PASSING DOWN KNOWLEDGE

Guides at local museums teach guests and stay busy in retirement

By DEBORAH STOREY Living 50 Plus

Stay active. Make new friends. Inspire young people. Stay sharp. For seniors and retirees, these are great reasons to volunteer.

Another is that volunteering in the community just makes people feel good about themselves.

acy laten, volunteer coordinator at the Cook Museum of Natural

Science in Decatur, said the museum has roughly active volunteers right now and has had as many as through the years.

They explain exhibits in the galleries and assist with animal care, education, programs and administrative tasks.

“They are crucial to the day-to-day operations of the museum as well as the big picture, acy said. he ma ority, she gures, are senior citi ens.

“It’s a great place to be connected and involved in the community and to help with kids of all ages learning about science, especially for the retired community,” she said.

“It’s a great spot to do all of those things locally. Even if it’s not working with the public there are still many opportunities.” oulton resident arry ast retired from in Decatur in and volunteers at Cook’s among other places. ast heard about the oo useum and attended a volunteer recruitment session before it even opened. ast is what s called a gallery explainer, which means he is on the floor interacting with guests during his shift.

“I realized that in retirement I needed some things to do, ast said.

He loves kids. He and his wife raised and home schooled .

“I talked to them and realized that it was something I de nitely wanted to do in retirement,” he said.

“I get to talk science, basically, and most of the time to kids,” said the year old. I en oy it. I do it one day a week. I work a four-hour shift, typically.”

He likes talking to school groups but interacts with anyone who happens to come through the science museum, from families with young children to retirees.

“Four- and 5-year-olds are going to ask me pretty basic questions,” he said.

For instance, the museum has an exhibit with live juvenile alligators in a tank.

“Sometimes kids will talk about the crocodiles and I’ll go over there and say, ow wait a minute, there s a difference between crocodiles and alligators,’ and explain the difference to them, he said.

At the popular snake exhibit, kids usually ask which ones are poisonous.

“I like that question because I always say, ‘There’s no such thing as a poisonous snake.’ And they’ll look at me like, ‘What are you talking about?’ And I say, ‘Snakes are venomous.’ ast, who has a h.D. in chemistry, tutors chemistry and physics and teaches Sunday school. A former Boy Scout leader, he works with an adventure and leadership program for boys in grades called rail ife. e s also president of the Good Samaritan Food Pantry in Moulton. ast volunteers at the library, too, and reads to children. When someone else didn’t show up at Easter, “they had a 6-foot-3 Easter bunny,” he said with a laugh.

Obviously, he likes to stay on the go during his retirement years.

“You’ve got to have a plan when you retire. Otherwise you sit in your recliner and you watch TV,” he said. “My wife accuses me of being busier now than when I was working, and it’s probably true.”

Explaining rocket science

Craig Sumner has been volunteering at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in untsville since , even though he is still wor ing at almost age .

“I thought I would retire at age 55, when I was a young person,” he joked.

For someone who was interested in the space program as a youth, Sumner’s timing to enter the wor eld was excellent. He started in a co-op program with NASA in 1969, six months after the rst moon landing. e wor ed on the lunar rover with the Apollo 15, 16 and crews. e has a picture of himself wearing astronaut im ovell s training suit.

As a volunteer, Sumner loves being able to spend time in the Space & Rocket Center environment and tell stories.

“It’s my playroom in a sense because a lot of the hardware that’s out there, I got to work on,” Sumner said. “I get to share some of those experiences.”

Sumner tells young people “if you can dream about it, you can go do it.” e could drive across ve different countries, ust about, on a long Sunday drive,” he said. He was assigned to Germany at an ama ing time in history days before the erlin all came down.

Terry Carver of Decatur also works as a Space & Rocket Center docent. The center has two types of volunteer docents, he explained, those who worked in the space program and others from the military.

“We’re retired military and generally we do volunteer work with Aviation Challenge,” said the Decatur resident. is wife ynne has volunteered at the center as well.

“We’re always looking for more military and NASA docents,” said arver, .

During his 26 years in the Air Force, Carver was a crew chief and aircraft technician. ne of the rst airframes he ever worked on was a C-5A. He knows the difference between the and aircraft, too, so he can talk knowledgeably about the planes on display. When he gives tours these days, he can discuss programs he was involved with in his younger days but couldn’t talk about at the time.

During his service the Carvers were stationed at some great locations, including Germany, Spain and Greece.

Volunteers stay active

Carver retired from the military at age 45, then worked as a college professor for years and spent another years at SAIC.

In addition to volunteering at the the Space & Rocket Center, Carver works at Habitat for Humanity and volunteers to usher for ballets, plays and concerts at the Von Braun Center.

Volunteering is a great way to stay active and engaged, said the still-energetic Carver.

“It keeps me going. I get up and go every day. Except when I tore my shoulder last year I don’t sit around in front of the TV,” he said.

umner offers another good reason for seniors to volunteer.

“It’s an opportunity for me to give something back,” said Sumner. “I’ve been so blessed in my life and career.

“When you can save a company and taxpayers money by taking these highly passionate engineers and pointing them in the right direction” to help with needs in the community, he said, everyone bene ts.

For seniors looking for volunteer opportunities, the Volunteer Center of Morgan County website lists a number of ways to get involved. The center is always looking for people who can help with minor home repairs, grass mowing, building wheelchair ramps, collecting for critical needs and helping to shop for Christmas programs. Even fun events like the Dragon Boat Races at Point Mallard use volunteers.

Other places to check for volunteer opportunities include schools, hospice programs and United Way.