Volunteers play a huge part in preserving history at Campus Martius and Ohio River Museums. Whether you enjoy educating visitors on our local heritage or impacting the minds of our youth, Campus Maritus and the Ohio River Museums have a place for you!

Each year, we educate about 3,000 students on average. We offer them a variety of programs that
are tailored to the educational needs of the group. The majority of this happens within just a few months! However, none of that would be possible without our incredible staff of dedicated volunteers! With giving just a few hours of your time, you can help transform the way our pupils view the world and truly make a difference! If you have a love for our region’s heritage, consider joining our team!

You don’t have to be an expert to lead activities. You bring the enthusiasm; we’ll provide you with thorough information and the opportunity to work with experienced volunteers and staff. Read through the opportunities below then contact our museum staff.


Campus Martius Museum

Tour Guide — Rufus Putnam House

Lead tours of the oldest house in Ohio. Of horizontal plank construction, the Rufus Putnam House, part of the original stockade, is enclosed inside the museum. Rufus Putnam and his wife, Persis, remained in this house on its current site until their deaths. The house was restored by the Ohio Historical Society (currently the Ohio History Connection) between 1966 and 1972. No prior knowledge needed! We provide all the materials you need.

Activity Leader

Lead students with hands-on activities about early Marietta, and U.S. frontier history following the Revolutionary War. Training provided to lead all activities.

Campus Martius Museums Programs:

  • Candle dipping
  • Pioneer clothing
  • Military drills & arms
  • Putnam House/Conestoga Wagon
  • Weaving
  • Ohio’s Post-Contact Woodland Indian Culture 1650CE-1795CE

  • Ohio Wildlife 1780s
  • Quill Pens, Horn Books, & One-Room Schools
  • Transportation into the Frontier
  • Ohio’s Paleo-Americans 800BC – 1650CE
  • Fossils of the Valley


Ohio River Museum

Tour Guide — towboat W.P. Snyder Jr.

Show school children and tourists how the Snyder worked. The Snyder is a National Historic Landmark and the last intact steam-powered “pool-type” stern-wheeled towboat in the United States. If you don’t know your starboard from your port, that’s okay! We train and provide all the information you need.

Activity Leader

Lead school programs with hands-on for students that supplement the teachings that focus on Math and Science. Training is provided to lead all activities.

Ohio River Museum Programs:

  • Stream Table: how streams are formed, flood plain, and effects of erosion, etc.
  • Enviroscape Watershed Model
  • Flatboats, Tows, and More Boats
  • History of Wildlife of Ohio
  • Fresh water mussels, invasive species and the historic button industry!