Volunteering at Haslemere Educational Museum

"The role of our volunteers is to support the Museum, bringing enthusiasm and community involvement into the heart of what we do." (Haslemere Museum´s Volunteer Handbook, 2010)

The first volunteers at Haslemere

The use of volunteers at Haslemere Museum is not a recent development. As early as 1895, the Museum´s founder Sir Jonathan Hutchinson called for help from the members of the Haslemere Natural History Society:

"He invited all who would to share his own pleasure in completing the collection by assisting to arrange and label the specimens, by adding to them and by helping to form the temporary collection of flowering plants and other botanical specimens; and he asked the co-operation of his neighbours and friends to take part in the Sunday afternoon demonstrations."
(Swanton, E.W. 'A Country Museum', Haslemere Educational Museum, 1947)

The role of volunteers today

Today, volunteers are involved in running every aspect of Haslemere Educational Museum, from greeting the public to cataloguing the collections. Some volunteers help with educational workshops whilst others serve in the Museum's shop.

In 2002 Haslemere Museum commissioned the 'Volunteers Window' to celebrate the immense contribution made by volunteers to the life of the Museum. The spectacular stained glass panels, designed and executed by Rachel Mulligan, depict some of the wildlife found in the Museum's grounds.