I raised this very question at a week-long museum institute this past autumn - and saw a shudder go through the group!
I wondered why we keep, for the most part, "bankers hours." The shudder was the result of a number of overwhelmed, over-committed professionals, whose initial reaction was - one more thing!
My two small historic house museums have lighting issues, so evening hours are currently not practical most of the year without a serious investment in upgrades.
I am curious to hear if others are doing more evening hours. I think it would take some targeted marketing - we expect the movies or the mall or the amusement park to be open late. Will the public think of us when they are considering evening options?
Cindy Boyer
Director of Museums and Education
The Landmark Society of Western New York
133 S. Fitzhugh St.
Rochester NY 14608
(585) 546-7029 ext. 12
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The Landmark Society: Revitalizing Yesterday, Protecting Today, and Planning for Tomorrow
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-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Garet Bleddynn
Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 11:51 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Question on Operating Hours
Good morning, all,
I just had some random questions about operating hours that I wanted
to ask. This is not a part of any project or class-related activity.
It's just for my own personal curiosity and education so you can feel
free to e-mail me privately at [log in to unmask] unless the folks on
the list think this will be helpful.
1. What days of the week and hours are you open?
I know here at the Tennessee State Museum where I am interning, the
museum is open Tuesday through Sunday. Tuesday through Saturday, the
museum is open from 10am-5pm. On Sunday, the museum is open from
1pm-5pm. I know it seems to me this limits families going to museums.
They would have to attend on either Saturday or Sunday.
I remember reading a paper by Dana in our public history seminar where
he commented on museums' operating hours and locations as needing to
correspond with the communities they seek to serve. This got me to
thinking, always a dangerous thing. If museums are trying to involve
the communities, and if we acknowledge that museums are competing with
other recreational activities for time and money, then maybe we need
to review the hours?
If I work Monday-Friday from 8-5, let's examine my recreational
options. That theme park might be open until anywhere from 7pm-9pm. If
I want to go to a movie, I can go to a 9:00pm or later showing. If I
want to browse the web, that's 24/7. If I want to go to the mall,
that's open until, at least, 9pm, even later now that it's the Holiday
hours.
I just had to wonder. I've seen very large crowds for after-hours
events both at the museum and even at the local zoo. What do you think
your visitation might be like if your hours were 12-8? Also, what kind
of staffing issues do you run into with trying something like this?
Thanks for indulging a graduate student's curiosity!
Garet
--
M. Garet Bleddynn
========================
It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to any pursuit.
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The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
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