A Day at the Museum with Marjorie Gilbert
If you are a native New Yorker, or even if you’re not, you’re likely to have fond memories of the American Museum of Natural History. The museum, between 79th and 81st Streets and Central Park West, is a scientific exploration of our natural world from the tiniest insects to the vast galaxies of the universe. Who can forget their first visit to the Great Hall of Dinosaurs or the planetarium?
No one knows the wonders of the museum better than Marjorie Gilbert. For the past 30-plus years Marjorie has been traveling to the Upper West Side to work as a tour guide at the Museum of Natural History. During that time, she has shared the wonders of the museum with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his family, the Prime Ministers of Egypt and Jordan, and countless visitors from around the world.
Her latest charges are her fellow residents at Broadview at Purchase who have enthusiastically signed up for tours with Marjorie. This will be her third tour hosting Broadview residents, and she plans to continue these outings as long as there is interest. Her fellow Broadview residents are among her favorite tour groups because she says, “A tour is not a lecture, but an exchange of ideas,” and the groups from Broadview “Are so darn smart!”
“I like to think that these are dinner guests at my house,’’ she said. “I’m very cordial and I try to be funny. But be very accurate. If I can get them to come in as if they are guests in my home, they can pay better attention because they are relaxed. And if they can participate in it, that’s even better because the other participants are also interested in what they have to say, and it encourages conversation.”
Marjorie was not always so relaxed about her presentations. On her first day, she was so nervous that a museum guard had to come to her rescue when she completely blanked out while describing the Galapagos turtle. But now she enjoys her job so much that she makes the journey to Manhattan every Monday to continue this lifelong learning process.
This love of her work at the museum came late in life and almost by accident. After graduating from Smith College and earning a Master’s degree from Columbia, Marjorie dabbled in a number of careers, including working with the Daycare Council of Westchester and the Mental Health Association, and serving as the Director of Development and Public Relations for Westchester Jewish Community Services – but none of these jobs blended her skills and her passion as well as her work at the museum.
“It started as a search for a retirement job. I met with the director of development who asked if I wanted her job. I said, Hell no! She said, ‘How about a tour guide? It’s a plum job. You get a lifelong education for free and meet the most interesting people from curators, researchers, staff and fellow tour guides.’’’
After six months of study and exams, a process she described as “tortuous,” Marjorie was certified as a tour guide. The preparation was necessary because there are no scripts for the tours. Each tour is unique and tailored to the group. Guides are required to learn all there is to know about a particular hall, whether it’s the Hall of Dinosaurs, Meteorites, Biodiversity, Planet Earth, African Mammals, the Forest Floor, Ocean Life and others – all of which Marjorie is conversant in.
When she moved to Broadview this past March, she said she was thrilled to find so many interesting people. It occurred to her that Broadview residents’ love of lifelong learning made them the perfect people to share her years of acquired knowledge of natural history.
Now she’s started a new project, Who’s Who at Broadview where she invites interesting people to talk about themselves and their lives. Perhaps Marjorie – who’s published a 225-page memoir about her life, loves and travels – will be the next guest.