Dear David:

I think now might be a good time to do a self-examination of the museum
and its reason for existing - does your museum have a mission statement?

Secondly, now would be a good time for the owners to conduct a
Comprehensive Feasibility Study of the contemplated move - investigating
and conducting the necessary site research and comparable visitor
projections on a number of potential sites - the projected costs and
projected income sources and levels for each site.

MSI has worked with on such a "Relocation" study for The Chicago Academy
of Sciences with The Visitor Attraction Section of The Real Estate
Services Group of Arthur Andersen and it is amazing what types of "hard"
information comes out of these studies.  Relocating the museum without
the benefit of such a study - and without the benefit of the projected
income for each proposed museum site would be disasterous.  Commercial
organizations would not do - why should a museum?  Especially, when the
relocation would involve, not only the move itself, but the design and
construction of a new museum building.

However, I think you should impart to your Board or owners the old Real
Estate maxim:

        There are three important factors to be considered in Real              Estate:

                1. Location
                2. Location
                3. Location.

The mentality of "If you built it, they will come" is outmoded.  It
flies in the face of the long accepted business practice of Feasibility
Studies and especially in the relatively new field of Cultural Tourism
Development Studies.

Kind Regards

Roger Wulff
Museum Services International
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PS: Please contact me if you would like some addition information on the
field of Cultural Tourism Development.