If you are service-minded, interested in astronomy, enjoy meeting people, and would relish the opportunity to work at one of the most scenic spots in Southern Arizona, then consider joining our Docent Program.
Check back for the date of the next docent training.
PLEASE NOTE: Docents are unpaid volunteers. This is not an application for employment.
To apply to the Kitt Peak Docent Program, please download the Application Form. Open it in Word (or some other text editing software), type in your responses to the questions, and save the form. Then simply attach the updated document to an email and send it to ggiles@noao.edu.
Gigi Giles
Volunteer & Membership Program Coordinator
Kitt Peak Visitor Center
ggiles@noao.edu
(520) 318-8736
Docents lead three public daytime tours of our major research telescopes and interact with guests in the Visitor Center to insure an engaging and educational visit.
Docents host school groups at Kitt Peak, conduct or assist with special events and programs, develop astronomy-related demonstrations, assist with exhibit designs, and operate telescopes for public solar viewing.
Upon completion of training, docents must commit to at least three six-hour shifts per month on Kitt Peak for the following two years. Each shift is from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM (if taking an observatory shuttle, docents will depart observatory headquarters on Cherry Avenue at 8:30 A.M. and return by 5:20 P.M.).
Docents may schedule their own shifts but must also be flexible and willing to support outreach efforts and cover for other docents as needed.
Docents are expected to adhere to observatory policies and procedures at all times.
Monthly docent meetings featuring speakers from the scientific community.
Free transportation to and from Kitt Peak in observatory vehicles.
Free lunch in the mountain cafeteria while on duty.
A discount on all items in the gift shop, except Tohono O’odham crafts.
Free admission to our Nightly Observing Program for you and a guest.
The opportunity to become involved in other Visitor Center projects.
After successfully completing the training course, docents must be willing to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for Kitt Peak astronomy with visitors.
Docents must be able to interact with diverse members of the general public in a positive and professional manner at all times, serving as the public face of Kitt Peak National Observatory.
Docents must be able to work with each other and observatory staff in a positive and professional manner.
Docents must be able to walk at least 1/2 mile at a 7,000-foot elevation and spend long stretches of time on their feet during their shifts.
To help prevent the spread of the virus causing Covid-19, we have closed the observatory and the mountain road to the public, and cancelled all upcoming public programs. Please do not travel up the mountain road for any reason, or by any means. If you are scheduled for programs in the next few months, please check back before traveling to Arizona, or traveling up the mountain.
Kitt Peak is first and foremost a research facility. To avoid interfering with research during nighttime programs, the Visitor Center adheres to strict lighting control procedures.
Your vehicle’s headlights will be covered. When you leave after any evening program, you will be guided by an observatory vehicle for one mile down the mountain road. After that first mile, staff will remove the headlight covers for you.
Guests may not leave the programs early except in cases of genuine emergency. By making a reservation in any of our nighttime programs, you indicate your understanding of and willingness to abide by these procedures.
No one may visit the observatory after 4:00 P.M. unless registered for a nighttime program.
