Front of house volunteer at the Victoria and Albert museum

I have now completed my first day as a front of house volunteer at The Victoria and Albert Museum. When I am there I am not seen as Alexander but as a member of staff. I represent The Victoria and Albert Museum in the eyes of the public. It is a privilege to be a front of house volunteer as it is all to do with being able to engage with people and understand what they want to try and see.

The Victoria and Albert was the first museum in the world to provide a restaurant within the museum. The restaurant had different menus for second class and first class visitors. Some visitors just want to go to the restaurant, which is world famous, and not see any of the priceless history on offer, which to many of us is baffling indeed. It is one of the great benefits of being a front of house volunteer, that we get a big discount of food at the museum. The museum obviously knew the way to get through to me is by offering cheap and healthy meals!

The first director of the Museum was Henry Cole. When he and Prince Albert opened the Museum officially in 1857, they wanted to attract as wide an audiences as possible to the museum and they did so by creating a wide variety of halls and exhibits to draw in people with different tastes and interests. This is partly why The V&A was and still is the leading museum in art and design.

The best way of describing The Victoria and Albert Museum is that it is like a Grandmother's handbag. You never know what's inside and you pull out something new every week. One can go there every day for years and still discover a new fun fact about the museum.

The main courtyard of the museum was built in stages and over time and is a special resting place in the museum. The courtyard was last renovated in 2005 and that was when the lakes were created.

In one of my interviews my boss said it was destiny that I would end up volunteering in The Victoria and Albert Museum. The interviews were quite tough and varied. When I did my volunteer training day I loved the work, as I could show off how great I was at talking to members of the public.

I am loyal fan of The Victoria and Albert Museum, as it is wonderful to volunteer in a place that is steeped in so much history. The Victoria and Albert Museum was created to be the schoolroom of Britain. It was built in 1852 during the golden age of the British Empire, so the collections that the Museum put on were in part to show off how big and great the Empire was to the world.

All of the South Kensington museums were a point of pride to the British Empire. They took a lot of time and effort to create. They are run by the Government and these museums and they belong to the public. What is amazing about the South Kensington museums is that they are all free. No where else in the world does free museums as we do.

These museums were mostly created by Prince Albert. He was the main Patron of the museums. Prince Albert wanted to leave his mark on the world this was how he achieved it; by creating these museums.

The front of house Volunteers are all about helping the public navigate their way through the museum. It's very important that the members of the public are greeted by a familiar and friendly face that is not a tough security guard. The Volunteers play a critical role within the museum as they take the strain off the senior staff at the museum. The volunteers are very useful for the museum as they would not volunteer their services unless they had a keen interest in history.

These Volunteers can learn on the job in how to deal with the public. Although the main part is to try to make the public feel at ease within the museum, because if guests have not been before, which many have not, they tend to be quite shell shocked and in awe. My job then is to make them feel comfortable in this new and often intimidating environment.

It is also part of our training to know the Gallery assistants in all the galleries, as well as the security and the objects which are on dispay. In this way, I view are role as also being part custodians of the treasures that it is our privilege to look after. We have a duty of care to these artefacts as well as our guests.

There are a 145 different departments in The Victoria and Albert Museum. I volunteer mainly at the front, at the Brompton road entrance by the famous Victoria and Albert Rotunda Chandelier which is a glass sculpture created by Dale Chihuly. It is my favourite entrance because of the courts and the pillars at the front. I like the glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly although I have to tell some of the visitors who are baffled by the glass sculpture not to be too alarmed by it. It shall not drop!

Overall, I love being a front of house staff member and its a privilege to be a volunteer in The Victoria and Albert Museum. Any human only has one life, so it is best to not waste it on a pointless job and do something that excites and enthrals. This job excites me, and so that is why I shall keep on doing it for many years to come.

I hope now that you have read this post you can make time to visit this beautiful museum in South Ken, and if you come on a Monday between 10am and 1pm, then please say hello!