Spring Means Field Trips

It's spring and that means field trips.  So here is a bit of feedback from a 6th grader from a recent field trip to a large Boston area museum:
"Why can't they do something different?  The tour guide started off telling us everything we couldn't do in the museum, so most of us wanted to leave after hearing 'no, no, no...' The lady talked the whole time, but didn't ask us any questions.  The galleries were SO crowded with other kids from other schools that we couldn't even hear or see that well.   The best part of the day was when our teacher told us about the largest ancient statue to arrive at the museum and how they had to remove the skylights in the roof to lower the statue into the gallery...now that was cool!"
What a missed opportunity.   Don't get me wrong, there are many, many cultural sites with innovative school tours and programs that get high marks for content, learning, and presentation.  Clearly this isn't one of them.   So, if this is what your site is offering to school groups - the standard docent led talking tour for students - think about inviting some 6th graders to give you feedback and ideas.  I know there are lots of kids out there who would be happy to do so - and, they would think it was cool!

New Year - New You

The start of the new year is a great time to take inventory of your program offerings and really think about what is working for your site and your visitors.   Before you just plow ahead with business as usual, set aside some time to review the feedback you received from evaluations conducted over the past year, and, to accompany this, make a simple 4-square grid and do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities) analysis of your programs and offerings.   What works?   What doesn't?  Why?  Perhaps it is time to put some programs to rest and try some new ideas, or, perhaps you can leverage an existing program and tweak it slightly for a different audience.   Use these tools and this data to inform your planning for the coming year.   You might just surprise yourself, as it is always wise to look back as you look ahead - we just don't always make the time to do so.

Be the Visitor

At Back to School night for middle school, each of the teachers took time to introduce themselves and share some stories about their families, including their children.  They personalized their presentations, allowing the parents in attendance to see that as teachers they were not ony professionals, but well-rounded educators.   They are good at what they do for a variety of reasons, but largely because they have empathy.   As parents themselves, they relate to the moms and dads, and, as parents who deal with their own kids on a daily basis, they get it.   Which made me think of museum staff and their empathy for visitors.  How often do we really put ourselves out there in the shoes of our visitors?  Certainly this isn't a new or cutting edge topic, but it's one we need to be consistently reminded of.  In fact, recently a client mentioned that she hadn't been to another museum in over a year because she was just too busy at her own museum.   Unfortunately, I hear that alot.   And it makes me pause.   We need to make the time.  It's refreshing, it's enlightening and it's important  So, get out there and visit other venues, and don't forget to visit your own site, taking time in your own public spaces, testing your amenities, your programs, your directional signage.   I promise, you will always learn something new.

Everyone Needs a Break!

Sending kids to overnight camp is a great experience for kids and parents alike.   Though hard to say the 'goodbyes,' the break is beneficial for everyone.   Kids gain independence, self-reliance, and freedom.  Parents gain perspective, peace of mind, and a little quiet.  Everyone experiences a little down time from the usual busy routine.   So, you ask, what does this have to do with the museum world?   The answer:  Everything.   As a consultant, I am constantly hearing how 'tired,' 'burnt out,' 'busy,' 'overwhelmed,' and 'overworked' museum staff are feeling.   "We can't do one more thing...there aren't enough hours in a day..."   Many haven't used allotted vacation or personal time because you say there is too much to do.   Really?   The more I encounter this the more I can tell you it's not true.   Everyone needs a break.  Not just a day here or there, but a real break.  From your work, your colleagues, your museum, and from your to do list.   Schedule your vacation time and take it.  Everyone will benefit.

Motivation is an Essential Part of Training

There is little benefit in training if your clients fail to successfully apply the ideas you present.   You must be a motivator as well an instructor or coach.

Recently, while training a group of visitor service staff members at a museum, we spent time focusing on their past experiences with evaluation.   Each of them was about to begin conducting intercept interviews of visitors and they needed to feel comfortable.   So, I gave each of them an opportunity to highlight their past, focusing on any experience they had with evaluation.   Though their examples were sometimes tangential at best:  working with a Social Psychology professor tallying survey results,; completing course evaluations; conducting pre school student assessments; completing retail and restaurant comment cards, they came to realize they could do this.   If they embraced the process it would be a notch in their professional development belt.    What were we doing?  Digging into their past to inform the present.   Involving them wholeheartedly to make them part of the process, inserting their energy & life experience...Motivating them by letting them realize that evaluation is not scary, but empowering.   Though it has to be based on goals and objectives, it doesn't have to be intimidating, theoretical, or forced.   It is practical, useful, common sense, and yes, sometimes even fun!

Remembering to LOOK!

On a recent visit to New York City, I was reminded of how much of a melting pot it is.   I was also reminded of what an incredibly diverse audience its museums attract.   In just a few days of museum visits, the variety of languages I overheard was astounding.   At MoMA, information about your visit was available into no fewer than 7 languages.   At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, you can plan your visit on their web site in 52, yes, 52 different languages, from Belarusian to Welsh, from Finnish to Polish...what an amazing array of people these museums serve.   In our constantly connected world, we all serve all of these audiences.   But, in Manhattan, the stream of international visitors is a constant physical presence.   Yet I got the distinct feeling that these visitors, though physically present, were not really there.   Most of them were so focused on taking pictures of themselves and their friends or family members with their digital cameras, electronic devices, or cell phones that they seemed removed from the experience.   I  honestly felt as if I were the only one LOOKING at the art work rather than trying to capture the perfect image of it to prove I was there.    If only we could have visitors leave all of their personal possessions and electronic devices aside for just a few minutes to use their eyes to soak it all in.    We let people plan their visits in 52 different languages, we offer them endless ways to approach and understand the objects, but sometimes all we really need to do is to remind them to look...with their own eyes.

I Hope They Were Listening!

Recently, I had the opportunity to be a guest speaker at a class for a graduate level Museum Studies program.    I presented on the topic of evaluation, a broad-based, though essential component of the work we do in museums.   It took awhile for the students to 'warm up' to participating in the dialogue and ask questions, which made me think a lot about what it takes to be a museum professional, and, what the future will demand.

The range of skills required is endless, with much more emphasis than ever before placed on the role of advocacy.   Advocacy as the ability to share our powerful messages with our communities, the greater public, our elected officials, and beyond.   We all need to be advocates for our sites.   It is, plain and simple, part of our job description, whether written or implied.   Along with advocacy, comes the importance of always asking questions and displaying a limitless curiosity for the world beyond museums, looking for ideas and inspiration.   This lesson I shared during the class, stressing the value that many for profit fields place on listening to the customer.

Speak out and speak up or our constantly changing world will pass us by.   Presenting to those graduate students, I emphasized the need to articulate the outcomes of everything you do - I hope they were listening!