We love volunteers!

The Fairbanks Museum welcomes volunteers to help at our front desk and Nature Store, collections care, in the administrative office, and a host of other areas. Volunteers collect flowers for the Wildflower Table and contribute crafts and cookies during our Victorian Holiday Open House.

Our volunteers enjoy spending time at the museum, getting to know our visitors, learning about our collections, and giving back to their community.

We are looking for dependable and capable volunteers to help with museum tasks on a regular weekly basis. You’ll be part of a friendly team working in an educational and cultural center. Tasks vary from greeting visitors to assisting with our live wildflower display and collections. Please see below for details about current volunteer openings. Because the health and safety of our volunteers, staff and visitors is a priority, we strongly recommend that our volunteers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Front Desk Attendants

We are looking for volunteers to help welcome guests and staff the store. As the initial point of contact for visitors entering the museum, we are seeking friendly and outgoing volunteers who are able to multitask and use technology. Responsibilities include checking in visitors, processing payments in a point-of-sale system, providing an orientation to the museum’s layout, and offering information on any special programs or exhibits. Familiarity with the town of St. Johnsbury is also beneficial. In this often fast-paced environment, you will be expected to process store purchases, admission tickets, and planetarium tickets, check in school groups, answer the phone, and respond to visitor inquiries. You will be supported by museum staff and have opportunities to pursue your interests related to natural history and museum operations. Positions open immediately for dynamic and independent individuals. Please call 802-748-2372 for more information and to apply.

Wildflower Table Assistants

The Wildflower Table at the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium is a living exhibit that reflects the diversity of flowers, grasses, berries, ferns and evergreens found in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. It has been part of the Museum since 1903, when the display was introduced as a simple arrangement of vases with wildflowers in bloom set out by Museum staff. With time, the Wildflower Table has grown to include some 400 species displayed throughout the year, in both fruit and flowering stages. We are looking for committed volunteers who are passionate about botany, wildflowers, and identification to help with refreshing the display on a weekly basis between June and September. Volunteer opportunities may include 1) exhibit upkeep :clearing withered plants, washing vases, putting new specimens in vases, identifying, labeling; and 2) plant collection: consistent weekly collection of wildflowers in bloom with an eye for identifying newly blooming species, understanding and adhering to the priorities and collection needs of the exhibit, working with other volunteers to include a representative sampling of blooming species. Plant identification skills, understanding of local habitats, and attention to detail are critical. We are hoping to cultivate long-term volunteers for these positions who are committed to one or more full seasons of service and interested in becoming part of a dynamic wildflower team. Please contact Anna at arubin@fairbanksmuseum.org for more information and to apply.

Collections Care

Volunteers help catalogue, research, and maintain our treasured collections. With the guidance of our collections manager, volunteers may work with specific collections or on priority projects that enhance the quality and safety of the pieces in our care.

Volunteers receive training in customer relations and seasonal museum exhibits in order to be able to answer visitors’ questions and make them feel welcome. Flexible volunteer shifts are available.

In addition to our supportive environment, flexible hours, and numerous learning opportunities, regularly scheduled volunteers get an individual membership which entitles them to museum admission, planetarium shows, 10% off in the Nature Store, and reciprocal admission to participating ASTC institutions!

Fairbanks Fellows

Robin Rothman
Tim Ruggles
Damian Ryan
Jutta Scott
Nilda Silloway
Stephen Slayton
Tom Slayton*
Joan Smith
Phil and Peg Soucy
Hilde Sparrow
Jay Sprout
Nathan Stodola
Stanley Swaim
Anson Tebbetts
Tanya Tellman
Elizabeth Thompson*
Jeanne Thomson
Frank Tilghman
Peg Tirrell
Nathaniel Tripp
Robin Turnau
William Vinton
Hubert Vogelmann
Shirley Warden
Libby Welch
James Wheeler
Thelma White
Brendan Whittaker*
Otto Wurzburg III
Edward R. Zuccaro
Tracy Zschau

*Franklin Fairbanks Award