At 03:07 PM 6/30/97 -0400, you wrote:
>I would observe again that (no matter who makes the assumptions) the
>promise of an upsurge in visitation and therefore income ought not be what
>drives a museum to build, expand, or change direction.  In my humble
>opinion, if anything, a museum professional -- confronted with an
>opportunity to help the institution do a better job -- ought to
>underestimate the effect on admissions revenue in justifying a plan.
>
>I'm geographically removed from the places that thought they could bail
>themselves out financially by retrofitting their exhibition program to
>accommodate those life-like dinosaur exhibits.  I do know of a few that
>simply wrecked their museums altogether for some time to come.
>
>The Valentine, by the way, has a fine consulting firm advising it.
>

I agree with you, but how does a museum professional go about confronting
the board who may not be interested in much that goes against the grain?

The following is for those who are considering the dinosaur exhibits.  We
too brought in one of those dinosaur exhibits.  After many phone calls to
other institutions about the sucess of this exhibit, and after looking at
our visitor base, I figured that numbers of visitors would rise about 25%
and just barely cover the cost of the exhibit (which we happened to get at a
great deal). And, since we decided we would get the exhibit anyway, I had a
chance to check my estimates.  My figures turned out to be fairly accurate.

My 2 cents.
Anthony E. Kerwin
Curator of Exhibits
                        Pacific Northwest Museum of Natural History
                        1500 E. Main St.
                        Ashland, OR 97520
                        Phone: 541-488-1084     FAX: 541-482-1115