Docent Jim discusses Tahoe with visitors

Our Docent Training Program is transitioning to the UC Davis Summer Sessions at Lake Tahoe. Please visit this page for more information: https://tahoe.ucdavis.edu/uc-davis-summer-session-tahoe 

The TERC Docent training program is a combination of live virtual webinars, recordings to watch in your own time, and an in-person tour at the Tahoe Science Center. Our goals for the program is provide comprehensive environmental education as well as leadership skills that act as a refresher for current docents and provides new docents with all the instruction they will need to help the public explore our science education centers. 

New volunteers can also join the program by meeting with our Docent Program Coordinator, reading the Docent Manual, and shadowing tours until they are comfortable hosting tours.

For more information about the docent program, please contact Docent Program Coordinator Alison Toy at (775) 881-7566, or e-mail antoy@ucdavis.edu.

Docent Program

Do you love Lake Tahoe? Join a group of individuals who are helping to provide the best in science education and foster stewardship throughout the Tahoe Basin. The UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center coordinates a volunteer docent program to connect the talents of community volunteers to the needs and interests of visitors and students.
           
After completing your docent training program, you will be able to select subject areas and responsibilities. The range of activities available to docents is varied. Examples of opportunities include:

  • Assist visitors with hands-on science activities
  • Be available to explain the science center exhibits to visitors
  • Provide tours of the Tahoe Science Center, Incline Village
  • Provide tours of the Eriksson Education Center, Tahoe City
  • Provide green building tours of the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences, Incline Village
  • Assist in outreach programs for schools and community events
  • Work in the Docent Office i.e. filing, typing, mailings, phone and e-mail correspondence

We currently attract thousands of visitors, locals, and tourists to the UC Davis Tahoe Science Center every year. Our volunteer docents help visitors have an entertaining, educational experience through which they will learn about Lake Tahoe and environmental problems affecting it. Our program offers docents unlimited opportunities for enrichment, public outreach, and personal satisfaction.

2019 Docent Roster

Docent Training Videos

Docent Orientation with Heather Segale (2021)

Tahoe 101: Lake of the Sky with David Antonucci (2021)

Summer Reservation System for 2021 Tours with Heather Segale (2021)

Geology of the Region and Formation of Lake Tahoe with Dr. Annie Kell (2021)

Everything You Wanted to Know About Lake Tahoe But Were Afraid to Ask with Dr. Geoff Schladow (2021)

Stories of Tahoe and Research with Dr. Charles Goldman (2021)

UC Davis Tahoe Social Media (2021)

"Research and Monitoring at Lake Tahoe/Food Web Research at Lake Tahoe" (2014)

http://seminars.uctv.tv/Seminar.aspx?sid=28580 

"Lake Tahoe and the World Wide Water Crisis" (2014)

http://seminars.uctv.tv/Seminar.aspx?sid=28604

Links for TERC Docents 

Sign-up for a 2021 Summer docent shift

Sign-up to shadow