The "Roll" of Discovery Carts
- Apr 2, 2018
- 2 min read
Over the course of the last semester, I have been able to intern at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. During this time period, I have been given the chance to study the various discovery carts volunteers and docents can use to educate the public.
If you are unfamiliar with discovery carts, they can generally placed anywhere in a museum to suit the educational material’s need. Volunteers and docent (at least in the Botanic Garden) are briefed on all of the discovery cart interpretive plans, but are generally supported in choosing the discovery cart, interpretive plan and location that bests suits the museum at that time.
Spending so much time with the discovery carts, I have come to understand the full importance of them in the museum world. Almost every museum on the National Mall has discovery carts (with the exception I’ve found so far being the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the National Museum of African American History and Culture).
Let me share with you my three main takeaways with discovery carts…
Firstly, the ability of volunteers and docents to choose the material they would like to use to educate the public does wonders. When the docent or volunteer is interested in the material, he or she is better able to captivate the audience/participants and answer their questions.
Secondly, the flexibility of the discovery carts to go anywhere in a museum also plays a major role. In museums like the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum discovery carts can be carted to any exhibit, be it upstairs, downstairs or across the museum.
Thirdly, volunteers and docents have access to all of the materials he or she might need for the discovery cart. At the United States Botanic Garden these materials are stored in individual bins. Inside each bin are the physical materials one might need to have on display or use as an example and an interpretive plan, which gives the volunteer or docent main ideas, key takeaways and the answers to frequently asked questions. Volunteers and docents are also welcomed to add to these interpretive plans as they deem necessary.
In sum, discovery carts are frequently used to educate the public in museums on the National Mall. After discussing with my colleagues from my Museum Education Master’s Program at GWU, I found that both the Hirshhorn and NMAACH are in the process of developing similar strategies of educating the public. I will be interested in seeing if the end result will be a discovery cart or a more modern evolution. Stay tuned!
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