Nickles, Dimes, and Tough Times : The Relationship between Visitors, Revenue, and Value
This post is a follow-up on a post last week about the Metropolitan Museum of Art instituting mandatory ticket fees. For many years, I ran a department in a free museum. Perennially patrons would ask for a free parking sticker stamp. If I had been a visitor, I, too, might have asked for this. After …
Museum Education 2018 Trend Forecast
Last month, I put a call out on Twitter for museum professionals to share their predictions for 2018. Before we get into the trends, it is useful to share the respondents’ collective vision of museums and the field. What is a museum? I invited participants to share their definition of a museum in 140 words …
5 Ways that UX Designers Practice can Improve Museum Work
User Experience Design is the set of practices employed to create products that center the user. These designers focus on people to make products better. Their working practices also center people to foster collaboration and support. So, what can museum workers learn from UX Designers: Problem: You are working on a big project …
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The Inclusive Museum : The Ideal State of Being for a Museum
The Japanese concept of Ikigai has been rolling around the Internet. The graphic describes when you are in the ideal state of being by balancing various states of work, life, meaning, and hope. The concept is either aspirational or depressing depending on your circumstances. The image did get me thinking. The museum has two …
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Museums have a Problem with Fun (Data)
Museums need visitors. Anyone who flips through an annual report or glances on a website can attest to that fact. But, how do you get them there? You entice them, of course. But, how do you do that? I can share how I did that. When I used to run programs, I would try to …
Trust the Revolution
Museums need a revolution of trust. The word trust is a common one in the museum field, embedded in mission statements and uttered by venerable directors. However, in both instances, museums use the word most commonly in terms of their holdings. Museums keep collections in trust for people. Spend a moment considering that language. Museums …
Team Dynamics in the Nonprofit Workplace / The Pride and Prejudice Guide to the Non-Profit Workplace
Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, was first published in 1813. In the subsequent 200 years, the tale of a family of unmarried daughters and their subsequent marital aspirations remains a popular novel. In my recent reread of the book, I started to focus on the staying power of this literary classic. This novel …
Inclusion-Centered Leadership
Inclusion occurs through considered actions. Leaders play an important role in transforming the ethos of inclusion from words into actions. That said, often, inclusions practices are translated into large actions, like requiring diversity training or implementing diversity hiring policies. Those are like bringing in the right ingredients for a great feast. If you don’t deal …
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Docent Programs (Data Template)
How can you quantify and assess the relative benefit of staff teachers to docents? Not easily, truthfully. This is a fuzzy math problem, at best. But, before I lay out some ways to consider this, let me offer some useful thoughts and questions to help you on your path. Mission-Driven & Client-Driven Most, if not …
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Inaction is an Action: #MuseumsResist is a better One
I had the extreme pleasure of being part of this year’s MuseumCamp hosted by Nina Simon at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. For those who are unaware of this program, it’s sort of a hybrid museum conference, personal growth program, and summer camp smushed into three days. Intense would be a useful …
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