Become a Volunteer

Volunteers are the Museum's Lifeblood

No nonprofit organization can operate without the extensive efforts of volunteers. The Maturango Museum is no different. Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Museum. Without them, very little would happen.

In 2019 museum volunteers logged in over 15,176 volunteer hours! We can always use more volunteers. Please see the volunteer opportunities below.

Become a Volunteer

Volunteers Assist In Many Areas

  • from the dependable folks who keep the gift shop running
  • and the docents who take education to the children of Ridgecrest
  • to the tour leaders who educate about our valley and its beauty
  • the petroglyph tour leaders who willingly work on weekends
  • the wildflower show committee
  • the gallery committee
  • and the tech support, building & maintenance folks

1664

Gift Shop Volunteer Hours

1269

Wildflower Show Volunteer Hours

8453

Docent Volunteer Hours

1812

Petroglyph Tours Volunteer Hours

…And So Much More!

Volunteer Opportunities

Docent League of the Maturango Museum

The Maturango Museum docents are very active in the community and around the museum.  Docents bring the Museum to the local classrooms, club meetings, and special events.  They also provide guided tours to groups visiting the museum.

Prospective docents are very welcome.  They will be given training about the Museum and the programs the docents provide.  New docents usually “shadow” seasoned docents until the new Docent is comfortable with programs and activities.  There are usually around 30 active docents. Docents meet the first Tuesday of the month at 9:00 AM at the Museum (snacks are provided).

If you are interested in becoming a docent, contact Nora Nuckles, the Education Coordinator, at 760-375-6900 or email her at nora@maturango.org or click on, complete and submit the Become a Volunteer Form at the bottom of the page.

Gift Shop Volunteers

Gift Shop Volunteers welcome all visitors to the Museum. Volunteers staff the gift shop, make sales, provide information to tourists, answer phone calls, and stock the gift shop. The Gift Shop volunteers meet many tourists from places around the world who stop by the Museum.

To volunteer in the gift shop, please contact Maureen Goff, Gift Shop Manager, at 760-375-6900 or email her at Info@Maturango.org or click on, complete and submit the Become a Volunteer Form at the bottom of the page.

Wildflower Exhibit Volunteers

Every year the Museum hosts a Wildflower Exhibit. This event conducted in April is both beautiful and educational. It also is the means by which the Museum’s permanent wildflower botanical collection is gathered. There is lots of work collecting plants, preparing them for exhibit, labeling each with its common and scientific name, and displaying them within their plant families. Volunteers do it all, including trained  botanists making the identifications. As many as fifteen teams collect wildflowers in assigned areas, while others are working in the Museum. Help is always needed and welcomed for this “annual rite of spring” event.

If you are interested in becoming a Wildflower Exhibit Volunteer, contact Debbie Benson, the Museum Executive Director, at 760-375-6900  or click on, complete and submit the Become a Volunteer Form at the bottom of the page.

Petroglyph Tour Guides

Petroglyph tours are provided by the museum to the Little Petroglyph Canyon historical rock art site located at the Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS), China Lake. Volunteer tour guides escort tour participants to the canyon. These guides act on behalf of the NAWS command to assure visitors are safe, adhere to base security and safety rules, and that the historical site is protected. Tour escorts are provided a full day of training about the rock art and the NAWS safety and the security requirements. Escorts are vetted through a federal background check. In addition to the actual guides there are opportunities to help coordinated the processing of the tour groups at the Museum.

If you are interested in becoming a Petroglyph Tour Guide, contact Linda Saholt, the Petroglyph Tour Coordinator, at 760-375-6900 or email her at petro@maturango.org or click on, complete and submit the Become a Volunteer Form at the bottom of the page.

Building and Grounds

The Maturango Museum is situated on 13 acres of land and occupies about 10,000 square feet of indoor storage, store and exhibit space. The Museum always needs volunteers to help keep the Museum in good shape. Volunteers are needed to maintain the garden and grounds around the museum. Volunteers are needed to change light bulbs, fix doors, fix minor plumbing issues, to paint and to do all the little maintenance jobs that come up from time to time. Some Maintenance volunteers are willing to be “on call” for little emergencies at the museum. The Building Committee and the Grounds Committee oversee the planning and scheduling of work but volunteers who do not like to attend meetings don’t need to participate in the committees.

If you are interested in becoming involved in Building and Grounds, contact Debbie Benson, the Museum Executive Director, at 760-375-6900  or click on, complete and submit the Become a Volunteer Form at the bottom of the page.

Other Volunteer Opportunities

There are other ways to volunteer at the museum. Volunteers have built display cases for us, painted the ceiling in the North Gallery, installed lighting, and moved our sea vans with heavy machinery.  To volunteer for other jobs, contact Debbie Benson, Executive Director, at 760-375-6900 or email her at debbie@maturango.org or click on, complete and submit the Become a Volunteer Form at the bottom of the page.

Reach Out

If you are interested in volunteering please send us an inquiry and we will get back to you as soon as we can.


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