The Malibu Lagoon Museum begins a six-week docent training session on April 3. Those who complete the course will be eligible to participate in a variety of volunteer opportunities with the museum.
Trainees will learn the story of Malibu’s land-grant history and its purchase by Frederick Rindge in 1892 for $10 an acre. The course includes extensive details about the Adamson House, an ornate example of ever-popular Spanish-Colonial Revival style completed by architect Stiles Clements in 1930 for the family’s use as a beach house. During his career, Clements designed 60 buildings on the Wilshire Boulevard Miracle Mile.
Appreciation of the exquisite Malibu tiles that decorate the interior and exterior of the house will be another focus of the course. The tiles, sold worldwide, were made from local clay soils and produced at Malibu Potteries, owned by the Rindge family from 1926 to 1932. Factory manager Rufus Keeler invented secret glazes and firing methods and made tile, which is as lustrous and unique today as when it was first installed.
Opportunities for docents are varied. Those who complete training will be members of the Museum Interpretive Association and will be Adamson House tour guides during regular museum hours; Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Most docents work two days a month. Docents may also choose to give tours at wedding events held on the property, to lead Full Moon tours or to be garden docents. The new children’s program, which focuses on the lagoon and its shore and water birds, is another option.
Additional volunteers are needed to work in the gift shop, which contains many books and publications about the museum and its tiles, the Chumash and other Malibu history, and native plants and birds. Reproductions of Malibu tiles are available for purchase along with a variety of decorative items. All proceeds from the gift shop support the docent program and contribute to funds used to maintain the house.
Museum volunteers are invited to ongoing training programs, visits to other historical sites and to attend a variety of social events throughout the year. Free state park passes are awarded for hours of service.
The course will take place on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The fee for course materials and museum membership is $40. More information can be obtained by calling Donna Lemkin at 310.456.1517.