The FLAAR Digital Imaging Center in Guatemala City offers occasional volunteer opportunities to students who are seriously interested in archaeology, architectural history, tropical flora or fauna, and/or digital imaging technology. The program is also suitable for people who work at a museum or in the field of digital imaging and who want to expand their horizons. During the course of the voluntary service it is possible to learn more about digital technology and its role in archaeology, ecology, botany or zoology.

Realize that certain seasons are more open to volunteers than others.

It is possible to select one of the areas, or to divide the time equally between several. It is furthermore a good opportunity to improve ones Spanish skills. It is not imperative, but certainly helpful, that you speak Spanish, since most of the staff and the directors of both institutions speak English, and there are also people who speak German. But there are some very good language schools in the nearby town of Antigua, and the city itself. It is not important how much time a volunteer wants to spend in Guatemala, but he or she should have a specific skill from which can produce results for FLAAR programs. Under certain circumstances a payment to the university will be expected to cover training costs. In other instances you can work as a Research Assistant or Teaching Assistant to waive such a fee.

FLAAR Digital Imaging Center

For several years, FLAAR has been situated in the New Media building across the campus from the museum. FLAAR engages in photographically oriented research and public education in the fields of art history, architectural history, archaeology, anthropology and ethnohistory with emphasis on pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Nicholas Hellmuth, the director, offers training courses in digital photography, panorama photography, digital imaging and much more, which might also be of interest to the volunteer. FLAAR is also a leading giclee production and training institute. See our companion website, www.FineArtGicleePrinters.org.

FLAAR is also involved in market research in the field of digital imaging, and shares its experience with interested consumers via reports and reviews. They have an extensive range of digital photography and large format printing equipment in the office in Guatemala, and a volunteer will get a training in some of it, for example in projects of rollout photography of archaeological vases from the Museo Popol Vuh. The volunteer will have the opportunity to learn a lot about the importance of digital technology and how to apply it professionally within his or her field of study. The experience gained while at the Digital Imaging Center will be a good addition to ones CV and noticed positively by potential employers.

It would be an advantage if the volunteer could offer some kind of skill in the field of digital imaging to contribute to the efforts FLAAR undertakes in its research and projects. Knowledge of German would be an additional plus since with a name like Hellmuth, the Director speaks German, and has resided in Zurich, Graz, and Essen-Werden.

Our current projects are devoted to evaluating wide-format inkjet printers in order to determine which are the best printers, inks, and media for producing prints for museums and archaeological sites. Digital photography and scanning are part of our long-range interests for many years, as part of our goal to improve the quality and quantity of photographic information available on pre-Columbian cultures of Latin America. In today's digital world, photographs are the ideal way to reach the interested public.

The University The Universidad Francisco Marroquin is located in Zone 10 in Guatemala City, one of the nicest areas in town. It is a private university and was founded in 1971. It has modern buildings, which are situated on a beautiful campus surrounded by greenery. In addition to the Museo Popol Vuh the Museo Ixchel, which has exhibits on traditional costumes, can be found on the campus. Photographs by Nicholas Hellmuth are displayed at mural size in many of the offices and buildings on the campus.

The Museo Popol Vuh

The Popol Vuh museum has interesting exhibitions on Pre-Columbian archaeology and colonial art in a modern setting. Currently there is a special exhibitionon Pre-Hispanic musical instruments. Dr. Oswaldo Chinchilla is the curator. The Museum offers workshops for children managed by a capable team dedicated to public education. Part of the museum is an extensive consulting library on loan from Nicholas Hellmuth and FLAAR. Otherwise there is no formal affiliation between the museum and FLAAR. We list the museum because our website receives over 125,000 visitors and we can provide a free service of recommending this museum to people who visit Guatemala. The Museo Popol Vuh library is open to serious students, to read up on the latest in archaeology or expand his or her knowledge in fields of personal interest. The official web site of Museo Popol Vuh is popolvuh.ufm.edu.gt. Their e-mail is popolvuh@ufm.edu.gt. The street address is Museo Popol Vuh Universidad Francisco Marroquin 6a calle final zona 10 Guatemala 01010. The Museo Popol Vuh does not have a formal volunteer program and has requested that inquiries for such a program not be sent since they have no volunteer program at present. Updated June 28, 2005