We've been doing a very successful behind the scenes tour once a month for
over a year now. We advertise it through our membership newsletter, and any
other general information pieces that go out. It is open to the public, and
reservations are encouraged. Our maximum number is 15 on a tour, and the
tour lasts about 2 hours. Our most effective advertising tools has been
green  81/2 x 11 laminated signs hung from staircases and doorknobs saying
"What's Behind This Door" or "What's Up These Stairs". When we guide people
through our historic home on a regular tour, these signs are noticed and the
guides explain the when and where of the tour. We also have a corrugated
cardboard sign we made from a kit at Office Max (about $25) we put out the
week before our tour that says "Behind the Scenes Tours Saturday at 11am".
We have 25,000+ cars driving past our Site each day, and that sign gets
noticed!

We charge $15/person for this tour (regular admission is $8), and people are
willing to pay it! And I'd say if you have the staff to do this tour
multiple times a day, go for it!

Allison Sharaba
James A. Garfield National Historic Site
Mentor, Ohio

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jason Aikens" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 12:55 PM
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Tours in History Museums


I'm working on developing a "behind the scenes tour" provided by some of

our summer staff.  The tour would be on a first come first serve basis,

would be free and would be unadvertised.  The idea is to offer the tours
3-
4 times a day and the tour would be 30-45 minutes long.  Each group would

be about 10-15 visitors.  The tour would show the visitors some of
the "nooks and crannies" of the museum such as our library and archives

and would be an added bonus for our visitors.

Traditionally we have been a self-guided museum.  Some of our staff is

concerned that if we don't offer these tours to everyone that some will

object if they learn about it after the fact.  They also feel
uncomfortable with the un-advertised notion of the tour.  It is
impractical to offer the tour to everyone since there will only be two

summer staffers available daily for this project and our attendance can

reach a 1000 people a day on the weekends.

Does anyone have any experience in starting guided tours?  Any pitfalls I

should watch out for?  Do people get mad if they are not able to
participate on a free guided tour?

Jason Aikens
Collections Curator
Pro Football Hall of Fame

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