TRANSIT OF VENUS: JUNE 5 Another solar event will take place on June 5. This event is a Transit of Venus, in which the planet Venus visibly and slowly moves across the disk of the sun. This is the ONLY transit of Venus that will take place in the 21st century. If you miss this, you will never see it again in your lifetime... and it is also viewed perfectly in Eclipse PHOTO BY JAMIE DIXON Albuquerque. PHOTOSOLAR ANNULAR ECLIPSE To see a NASA history of the Transit of Venus, (MAY 20) click the URL below, which will take you to This summer two astronomical "close http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAx- encounters" are taking place. On May 20, _iuCq14 2012, there was an unusual solar event called an "annular eclipse." During the DOCENT TRAINING… annular eclipse, the moon covered most of Docent Training will be held in August and the sun's disk leaving a thin ring of light - a September, 2012. ring of fire - around the edge--often called The scheduled dates are as follows: the ring of fire. Albuquerque was one of only a few places to see it in all its glory! August 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, 22, 27, 29 September 4, 6, 10, 12, 17, 19, 25, 27, 28 Each date will be a distinct hall/topic/subject/ practice and include reviews and exam at the end. Each date is currently planned to run from 9 AM to noon and 1 PM to 4 PM with a one-hour lunch break – although some dates may end early or include time with a mentor and/or self- study. It is expected that the Docents-in-Training will plan to attend every session. Please sign up for this training with Chris Sanchez. Eclipse reflection. PHOTO BY DWIGHT HARRIS 2 Louise Harris, VAN Editor YOUR VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION EMERGENCY PROCEDURES One Sunday morning last winter when I arrived Volunteers, the Volunteer Association is your at the Museum, two large tour buses were association. Its elected officers for the present already parked out front and had disgorged year, with contact information, are: about 100 older people. It was as busy an opening moment as I have had on Sunday PRESIDENT James Peavler mornings, and it was not long until we had a kind 505-246-8775 of minor crisis. [email protected] A portly, white-haired lady began complaining of PRESIDENT ELECT Dwight Jennison severe pain in her chest. She didn't seem able to 505-229-839 decide whether it was more on her left side or [email protected] right side; it seemed to be down the middle. But she was in a lot of pain and the pain was in her SECRETARY Mina Jane Grothey chest, so, I decided to treat it as a medical issue. 505-323-6855 Luckily, a security guard was in the atrium at the [email protected] time, and I reported her condition to him. It was not long before we had her sitting comfortably in TREASURER Tom Suazo a wheelchair with a blanket wrapped around her, 505-264-0565 had called 911 and made sure an ambulance was [email protected] on the way. PAST PRESIDENT John McDonnell Luckily, I 505-352-8868 happened to [email protected] have followed the correct ____________________________________________________ emergency procedures that THE VAN docents and others are [Volunteer AssociaIon NewsleKer] supposed to The VAN is the bimonthly newsletter of the follow in the Volunteer Association of the New Mexico Museum Museum. I of Natural History and Science (NMMNHS). Please discovered, or feel free to submit appropriate articles. The final rediscovered, submission date is the 15th of the month pre- that the security officers review their emergency ceeding VAN publication. The submission deadline procedures on a regular basis. I think it would be for the July/August issue, for example, will be June difficult to get all the volunteers in for a periodic 15, 2012. review of emergency procedures, but I think it's not a bad idea for us to review them occasionally The VAN is currently edited by Louise Harris and to provide information to our volunteers as [email protected]. Please send submissions, in Word, Pages, or email format, to Louise, with a to the proper procedures. copy to and Chris Sanchez. Photographs are There are two basic kinds of incidents, the encouraged. example above being a simple medical [email protected] emergency. The proper response to a medical [email protected] emergency is to immediately contact a security officer. You could do this by calling the security number at 1-2829, or send someone to find a security person. If there appears to be an 3 immediate health threat (such as unconsciousness, difficulty breathing, etc.) call HELP WANTED 911 first and then call security. Volunteers are Needed: Persons to help with the construction of not supposed to take emergency action such as a virtual tour of the Museum, to be attached to the performing CPR. Injured persons should be website and Facebook pages. It will initially just stabilized so as not to cause further injury and include the Centennial Exhibit, then be extended to made as comfortable as possible until help include the permanent exhibits, as a way to further arrives. attract visitors. Some emergencies threaten more than one Needed: Persons to help with an exhibit entitled person and often even New Science, which will enable recent discoveries the building. The most to be displayed in a timely manner. common such If you would like to contribute to either off these emergency we are projects, please contact Dwight Jennison at likely to have is the fire [email protected] or 505-270-6423. alarm. If you hear a fire President Elect Dwight Jennison alarm it is not your responsibility to find or to fight the fire! A Outreach Opportunity! volunteer's responsibility is to help evacuate the building. DINOSAUR EDUCATION IN Volunteers should make sure that everyone in the SILVER CITY SEPTEMBER 25 part of the museum were they are working moves Museum Educator Cirrelda Snider-Bryan steadily and in a controlled fashion to one of the (Prehistoric Preschool) is looking for two fire exit doors. Volunteers who are already trained in interpreting If it is safe, volunteers should walk through the Mesozoic life/dinosaurs (or who would be willing rooms in the area where they have been working to be trained) to travel to an outreach in Silver and help people find the exits. Normal procedure City. Travel time would be from Friday is to exit through the front door or the north afternoon September 14 through Sunday early doors into the parking lots. This policy is proper afternoon September 16, 2012. in the case of a power outage, a fire, a bomb The Museum has been invited to set up in the threat, a suspicious object left in a hallway, water Western New Mexico University's St. James leaks, floods and other water damage, chemical Stadium for the Grant County Annual Red Hot spill, explosion, earthquake. all of these Children's Fiesta, which occurs from 10:00 AM to events require evacuation of the building. 2:00 PM on Saturday. They expect around 2,000 There are probably many more emergency exits attendees. Their theme this year will be NM than most volunteers are aware of. There are 15 Dinosaurs. Accommodations for both Friday and exits on the first floor, and nine on the second Saturday nights would be paid for by the floor. I think it's a good idea for all volunteers to sponsor, Grant County Community Health know where these exits are. Maps showing where Council. The sponsor is also paying for all meals. the fire extinguishers, fire alarms, and fire exits Travel would be via state vehicle. Ability to help can be found in the red Museum Emergency set up and tear down displays is needed along Procedure spiral notebook which is tacked to the with the ability to interpret them to children, Volunteer bulletin-board in the Volunteer teens and adults. Lounge. You can read the whole thing in 15 If you are interested in this Outreach minutes, and I recommend you do so. opportunity, please call Cirrelda at President James Peavler 505-841-2882 or email [email protected] by June 15th. We will be meeting in June and August to plan. Thanks for considering this opportunity. 4 EDUCATIONAL SEMINARS JULY Educational seminars will be held in the July • Monday tour multipurpose room from 10:30 to 12:30 PM on Docent-led Exhibit Tour June 19 and July 17. All volunteers, docents, and tour guides are invited to attend. Dessert and July 1 • event drinks will be served following the presentations. First Sunday June 19 will feature Larry Crumpler Ph.D. - topic July 1 • special event to be announced. As usual there will be a "whats Children of Time Family Event new" presentation. July 8 • event On July 19 our speaker will be Jim Fassett MSc. Solar Sunday Jim will present us with published data that is believed to establish that dinosaurs survived the July 12 • Curator’s Coffee KT boundary for at least 1.5 million years. His Natural History Exhibits data is both radiometric and stratigraphic in July 19 • Centennial Lecture Series support of this thesis. Additionally there will be a Albuquerque’s Open Space and Urban- "whats new" session. Wildlands Conservation Bud Hodgin, Coordinator Educational Committee Centennial Lecture Series The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and VOICES IN SCIENCE Science is proud to present: The Centennial Lecture Series—100 years of Advances and (& Spiketacular) June-July, 2012 Significant Discoveries in Natural History and Museum Adult and Family EducaIonal Science in New Mexico.