Young docents explore, relate city history

Four afternoons a week, 18 children, whose ages range from 8 to 11, digest legendary tales of the past to share with history buffs. They are the young docents of La Pilita Museum in Barrio Viejo, and they are making history of their own.

The service program, which allows nearby Carrillo Elementary School students to conduct museum tours, tend the gardens and create exhibits, is being recognized for its innovation.

"Most museums have adult docents," said Barbara Brown of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, which has nominated the program for its Achievement Awards in April. Brown called remarkable the level of commitment from the children, who stay in the docent program for three years.

Javier Gomez, 10, said he sticks with the museum because he likes learning about the people and places of long ago. It's also fun teaching grown-ups a thing or two, he said.

"The last people we toured were from Washington, D.C.; they came here to see if we could do service," Javier said at the museum. "We showed them around and they told us, 'Thank you and that we really know how to do service.' "

Javier, a fifth-grader, is in his third year as a docent. He came in as a third-grader, following his older sister, Maribel,11, who also served as a docent. She has since completed the program.

The boy can recite, without hesitation, the legend surrounding El Tiradito shrine next to the museum, and how, back in the early 1970s, the landmark inspired people to save their neighborhood from a freeway that threatened to cut through the barrio.

His poster depicting the events surrounding El Tiradito, or the castaway, recently won a regional history contest and advanced to the state level. Javier admits he has a soft spot for the old adobe shrine on South Main Avenue.

"You can light candles, and make a wish," he said of the historic site. "It's very peaceful there."

This is Sarah Arevalo's second year as a docent, and the fifth-grader said she enjoys the program a lot. "When I grow older, I will tell the history to my grandkids," she said.

Sarah said she was pleased to hear that the museum's program is among 12 local nonprofits that are finalists for an award. Just in case they win, she and the other docents wrote a thank-you speech and practiced reading it together.

In addition to sharing the area's history, their speech declares: "We make our corner of the barrio pretty by watering plants, raking, and pulling weeds. Another service we do is interview people who have memories of Tucson."

Joan Daniels, the museum's educational and development director, said the program started in 2001 with the help of an Arizona Department of Education grant that promotes community service for students. The program, which has trained 122 children as docents since its inception, has received other honors, including Gov. Janet Napolitano's Youth Service Award in 2003.

"They don't have to be here; they could be somewhere else," Daniels said of the pint-sized docents. "It really is a tremendous commitment for the children."

Carol Cribbet-Bell, executive director of the nonprofit La Pilita Association, which runs the museum, said the children work hard. And since the museum was named one of the 23 historic sites on the city's Presidio Trail, a historic walking tour of Downtown Tucson, the docents now will learn about the importance of all the stops. The children stay close to the museum during tours, though.

Danielle Leyva, 11, is in the fourth grade and a docent-in-training who has yet to give a tour on her own. She's a bit nervous about it, she said.

"But I do like this place; I really like working outside," Danielle noted as she got ready to go home with her father, Xavier. He said the program has instilled a positive change in his daughter.

"She's learning more about keeping certain responsibilities at home," he said.

Name: La Pilita Museum

Address: 420 S. Main Ave.

Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays

For more information: 882-7454.