In helping a museum/interpretive center in Oregon with its revised master
plan, it seems to me that they are focusing a lot of staff energy on
teachers and school kids at the expense of other markets, specifically the
seniors. In Oregon a property tax limitation measure and a statewide
equalization in funding policy have sapped the available funds for endeavors
like field trips to a precious few.   In the meantime, seniors are an
increasingly active and generally more affluent group.

My questions to the list  are: do other museums and cultural institutions
notice a decrease in field trips because of funding?   Are school groups a
good market or a marginal market  (in terms of cost-benefit, not in terms of
civic worthiness or fulfillment of mission) ?  (You probably know my bias by
the question).  What about senior groups like retirement homes, etc?

I am especially interested in the experiences of institutions that may not
be considered "must-sees" by the community.  In other words, institutions
like the Museum of Science in Chicago I image are regular items on the field
trip list, but others that may be on the fence, I'd especially like to hear
from.

Thank You,

Mike Teskey
CommunityFirst! Partners
 ph: 303-373-7623
 fax: 3093-394-9876
 e-mail: tesk @csn.net
 http://www.csn.net/~tesk  (still getting finished, but some stuff is there)