The Numbers Game

Museums, like most organizations, run by the numbers.  Budgets, Schedules, Opening Dates, and most of all, Attendance Figures.

Museums are a little obsessed with attendance numbers.  Like the results of standardized tests in the Education world, we in the Museum world want to use those attendance numbers (and visitor demographics) for validation --- especially with funders.

Take that nice infographic at the top of this post for example. (Thanks to Philip Katz from AAM for providing this info!) It shows that the annual attendance in 2010 for all U.S. museums was approximately 850 million.  Wow! That's a lot! Especially when you compare that number with the combined bar on the right which totals up the annual attendance for major league sports and theme parks at 471 million.

(For you data heads, AAM says that the typical annual attendance is 850 million (defined as discrete on-site visits).  By comparison, the major pro sports (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) had 132 million paid attendees (in 2010) and theme parks attracted 339 million (in 2009). AAM relies on the statistics gathered by the Motion Picture Association of America in their 2010 Theatrical Market Statistics [see http://www.mpaa.org/policy/industry], rather than going back to the original sources.)

But beyond providing a little cocktail party trivia, or a clever opening line for a conference speech, what do those numbers really tell us? What's the context?

Are we to believe that people somehow value museums more than major league sports or theme parks? If so, why don't we have more "museum fans" wearing jerseys and lining up every day outside before opening time?  (Or better yet, scalping tickets to get inside!)

I'm grateful for every museum and every museum visitor that the 850 million number represents, but I'm also worried about the people (increasingly young and non-White) who aren't represented by those numbers.

I'm concerned that we as a field will think that somehow we're "beating" theme parks and major league sports when we should be concerned that alternative "edutainment" venues are appropriating our best ideas and techniques and using them to eat our lunch.

I applaud AAM's efforts to ask how can we use these numbers to become part of a far-reaching discussion with museum visitors (and those not yet regularly visiting) and policy makers.

Because it's not just a "numbers game." It's how we use the numbers and data to improve and continue to push all museums forward in these tricky economic times.

Onward!

UPDATE: Please share your financial data to help AAM fight for all museums on Capitol Hill and elsewhere. In the past, museums across the nation contributed data to AAM's Museum Financial Information survey; now museums can contribute the same key data through AAM’s secure online tool, Museum Benchmarking Online (MBO) (www.aam-us.org/MBO). Museums need credible, comprehensive data to make our case to policymakers – especially when they start cutting budgets. MBO is a quick, easy way to support the advocacy efforts of the entire museum field.

Go to www.aam-us.org/MBO for details, including a list of the data being collected, a checklist of the documents you’ll need to assemble, a video introduction to the system, and highlights of the additional benchmarking capabilities for subscribers. You do not need to subscribe or be an AAM member to enter your museum’s data. For the good of the museum field, please take a few minutes to share your vital statistics with AAM. If you have questions, send them to benchmark@aam-us.org.


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Is Google Ruining Your Exhibit Development Process?

First off, let me state that I really like Google --- I've even been to the Googleplex.

But Google has a real tendency to erode exhibit research and let some museum folks think that a Web-infused short cut is a substitute for the tricky work of actually understanding and connecting ideas together.

The Web is a great purveyor of information, but bits and bursts of information do not necessarily equal knowledge --- the type of deep understanding of a subject that leads to compelling stories and exhibitions. (This is also why many "digital panaceas" like QR codes applied in exhibitions are often so trivial, but that's for a future posting ...) 

Recently I've been bumping up against three types of Google abusers during the exhibit development process that are perfect examples of the axiom that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing."


The Google "Expert" This first googly-eyed abuser is really someone who should know better, because they are often an expert in their respective field.  I've worked on several science-related exhibits recently where content experts on the exhibition team just send links or URLS (or just cut-and-paste sections of web pages) as responses to specific questions about scientific content.

Ummm ... I could do that Google search myself! (In cases like this, I've been sorely tempted to send back a link from this website) If you're an advisor or exhibit team expert, how about actually providing some nuanced advice or expertise --- otherwise why bother having exhibition advisors in the first place?



But Google says ...  The second miscreant always does a quick Google search of a particular exhibit content topic or material, and if the first (or first few) Google "hits" somehow differ from the direction the exhibition is heading, they'll pipe up with, "But Google says .." whether they actually have the foggiest notion of what's actually being considered.

Recently, I had a museum administrator claim we couldn't use a particular item in an exhibit demonstration because "Google says it's dangerous."  Despite the fact that I produced the correct references and even material safety data sheets, that particular idea was dropped from the exhibit programming.

Here's a news flash --- the top results in a Google search (or Wikipedia entry) can often be misleading, if not completely incorrect. Web searches are a place to start, but to set Google as the ultimate arbiter of exhibition content or design or activities is just plain silly.



The Google "Quick Draw Artist"  This last item is as much an etiquette issue as an exhibit development one.  Namely, people whipping out their screen-based devices to poke and search on even in the middle of a conversation.  Checking email and taking "Google potshots" during exhibit team meetings or discussions, is just plain rude.  If we're taking the time to schedule an in-person meeting, can't we just turn off the screens for a bit?


What do you think?  Is Google gumming up your exhibit development process, or can it "do no evil"?

Let us know in the Comments section below.


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Summer Museum/Exhibit/Design Books

Off to the beach, or heading off on vacation?  Here are three recent books to consider bringing along. I've really enjoyed them and I think ExhibiTricks readers will too.

Charlie and Kiwi: An Evolutionary Adventure  This colorful book is a companion to the traveling exhibition of the same name developed by the team at the New York Hall of Science.  While its primary audience is children and families, the book is worth a gander for the wonderful illustrations by Peter Reynolds, as well as the interesting way that evolutionary concepts are introduced.  My seven year old daughter says "two thumbs up."

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements Author Sam Kean has done the near-impossible: changing my impression of the Periodic Table from dread to delight.  In the thematic chapters of his compelling and well-written book, Kean introduces the twisted history, as well as the amazing scientific concepts and characters wrapped inside the Periodic Table of the Elements.  I found an increased understanding and appreciation for the science embedded in every chapter, and learned lots of new concepts, too!  I think every intro Chemistry course should include Kean's book.

 

 

Last, but certainly not least, is The Convivial Museum.  Kathy McLean and Wendy Pollock have done a masterful job of assembling thematic chapters that remind us of the core elements of "conviviality" in museums.  This is a funny thing to say about a book, but it has lots of pictures.  But in this case, every picture really is worth several thousand words because each serves to illustrate "simple" concepts like seating or entrances and how tricky (and important!) they are to museum visitors.



Read any good books lately?  Tell us about your own summer reading recommendations in the "Comments" section below.




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Budget Busters

Forget those boneheads in Washington wrangling over finances!  Here are some practical ways to stretch your own museum and exhibit budgets.

• Adapt things "Off the shelf" (OTS).  Many excellent exhibit and program starters can be found on the actual (or electronic) shelves of hardware, auto supply, and toy stores.  Take a stroll for inspiration, and check out some of my favorite OTS items here.


• You could also latch on to somebody else's "used but usable" exhibit items.  Here are two examples:

Get your own "Garden of Gizmos."  My pal Clifford Wagner, is selling his popular traveling Garden of Gizmos exhibition.  (EDITOR'S NOTE:  We were a little sloppy in the initial wording of this post --- the exhibition is retiring, NOT Clifford!) So here's your chance to get a batch of wonderful kinetic exhibits (interactive art pieces really) at a bargain price with a full one year warranty.  Get the full story here.

Bend Time to your Will  Or at least make a deal for the cool tile sundial pictured below (cute kid not included) from the Brooklyn Children's Museum.  Erik Fiks, BCM's Exhibit Manager says the museum's roof (where the sundial currently resides) is being redone, and they want to find the piece a good home.  Email Erik directly for all the details.

• Solve Design Problems "On the cheap"  Contrary to popular belief, prototyping and exhibit design testing does NOT have to be an expensive and time-consuming proposition.  Learn how to become an "Office Supply Ninja."


Have some other tips to stretch a museum budget?  Share your ideas in the "Comments" section below.


Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Automatic ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

P.S. If you receive ExhibiTricks via email (or Facebook or LinkedIn) you will need to click HERE to go to the main ExhibiTricks page to make comments or view multimedia features (like videos!)

How Do You Get Your Clients to Focus?

What do you do when you're part of a project with clients who can't (or seemingly aren't able to) FOCUS?

As in not making everyone at a meeting go over a documented design decision for the fifth (or eighth, or tenth) time? 

Or not being able to clearly define the parameters of a project even after there have been dozens (literally!) of meetings to try to get enough clarity on the subject to productively move forward.

I know that the horrid economy is stretching resources and forcing museum folks to become even crazier multi-taskers, but at what cost to exhibition content development, and definition of project tasks?

In any event, I thought I'd throw open the question of "How do you get your Clients to focus?" to the witty and urbane ExhibiTricks readership.

So please post your ideas, or any resources or techniques for finding focus with clients in the "Comments" Section below.

Thanks!

Quick Exhibit Design Inspiration: D.O.T.S.

I first became aware of D.O.T.S. (which stands for Design Office Takebayashi Scroggin) from the image above --- a sculpture of a life-size polar bear constructed out of over 20,000 zip ties!

D.O.T.S. calls their polar bear construction a "Massimal"  (From the D.O.T.S. website:  Massimals are 1:1 design objects that serve as prototypes to examine how physical form can engage the public realm. These constructs are mass abstractions of animal forms fabricated in systematic fashion from one material.)

You can check out additional images of the Massimal as well as other D.O.T.S. work on their website.

Now where's that container of zip ties?



Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Automatic ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

P.S. If you receive ExhibiTricks via email (or Facebook or LinkedIn) you will need to click HERE to go to the main ExhibiTricks page to make comments or view multimedia features (like videos!)