Adult Learning, 1956-2019

The Adult Learning Series captures information on docents, interns, volunteers, and fellows.

The Docent program at the Brooklyn Museum was initally founded in 1913, and was active well into the 1930s. It was reinstated in the 1970s with the help of the Community Committee. Volunteers were recruited and trained to help the Education department give additional tours to school groups and other museum vistors. The docent program, now called Art Guides, is active today in 2024.

The fellowship program was initally active between 1956 and 1959 as a way to train students for Museum work. Fellows shadowed a variety of departments and learned skills from members of staff.

There are two types of internships across the Museum's history. The first, from the 1970s through the early 2010s, was specifically a museum education internship where interns learned how to give tours, speak about art, and create lesson plans for children. This internship series evolved into the current (2024) Museum Fellows program. The second internship program began in the mid 2010s and is currently active. Interns work across a wide range of departments within the museum to gain experience in the museum field. They have not been separated, as they inform each other. Before the 2010s, curatorial internships did exist, but they were largely organized by the specific curatorial department, not the Education Department.