Mark your calendars! The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art invites docents from across the US and Canada to Kansas City, September 16-19, 2022, to connect with other docents, guides, and museum educators and to be inspired by best practices and new learning.

Rescheduled from 2021, the symposium will feature visits to other institutions, a welcome dinner at the beautiful Nelson-Atkins museum, breakout sessions with the most relevant topics, and noteworthy speakers. Evenings will include dinners at different locations throughout the city. Leave with new friends, fresh ideas, and renewed enthusiasm for everything you do for your museum! More info here nationaldocents.org/

Call for Breakout Sessions

Breakout sessions are an essential and inspiring part of the symposium. Well-designed breakout sessions connect participants through modelling, involving, and generating enthusiasm. They inspire us to build programs that tell all our stories, speak to social justice, address inclusion, and open our minds to new innovations. 

Bringing audiences to the museum virtually has become very important in the past year. Share your successes and new ideas! And as our museums prepare to resume onsite programming, breakout sessions showing creative ways to return to in-person touring through reviewing, practicing, and updating our skills are also welcome. 

Guidelines and applications for submission of proposals for breakout sessions are listed under Breakout Session Application on the NDS website.