Wow! Someone is actually going to turn away a group of kids. I would
hate to be the one who has to do that. What a great way to say "hey kids
museums aren't for you."
Especially if you are open to the public during those times, you may set
yourself up for a lawsuit. If a family shows up can they take a
self-guided tour of the museum? A school group is like a large family,
if they have an adequate adult/student ratio [I'm simplifying here, but
you get the idea.]
Is your museum such that a group can not take a self guided visit? Are
you concerned about damage to exhibits? If they can, then kindly inform
them that since they did not make a reservation there is no educator
available (if there isn't) to lead them on a tour. However, they are
welcome to explore the museum on their own.
And perhaps you could create a "self-guided-visit-guide-book". A short
handout that you can give to the teacher/group leader that gives a
suggested tour route and short explanations of each exhibit piece. You
could model it on the exact tour that they would get with an educator.
It could also be used for training new staff in how to give the educator
tour.
In my over 20 years working in museums (mostly science museums, not art
museums [unless you count the summer I worked in the college campus art
museum]) we never turned away any visitors. [Unless the power was out
due to Virginia summer thunderstorms, which happened at least a few
times a year.] It is a bad PR builder, it is a direct loss of revenue
and you lose a group that would most likely give you great PR after they
left (They were soo nice, what a great place, etc).
So it seems win-win if you let them in, lose-lose if you turn them away.
Just my two cents.
Patrick McQuillan
Education and Outreach Specialist
IRIS
Washington, DC
Dan Bartlett wrote:
> Adrienne:
>
> Let me get this straight. There are people in your museum who want to
> turn away drop-in visitors? I'd be pretty sure that if you turn them
> away they won't come back. I know I wouldn't.
>
> How about these staff people get training from the educators in how to
> do the orientation and tour. That way there would always be someone
> there who could do the tour. I'm sure the ed staff can also provide
> guidance in how to work with pre-high school aged children. It's not
> rocket science.
>
> Or, since business is apparently booming there, perhaps these staff
> people should be required to do volunteer work in museums that are
> struggling to get enough people through the doors to stay open. Might
> improve their persepctive and attitude.
>
> Sorry if this sounds harsh, but this is a perfect example of why many
> people still feel that art museums are elitist and exclusionary.
>
> Are you?
>
> Dan
>
> On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 4:42 PM, <[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
>
>
> We have had a couple occasions where unscheduled children’s
> self-guided groups have dropped in at our museum to visit. This is
> not often, but when this happens, we currently have a policy to
> provide a staff orientation to the group and if they are under
> high school age, when available, an education staff member will
> give a guided tour to the group. They do not get the group rate
> and are required to pay regular admission.
>
>
>
> Normally, we require that all self-guided groups pre-register with
> our education department to get the group rate, along with being
> able to notify our front desk staff when they plan to visit. We
> have a policy that only high school age and up may have
> self-guided visits.
>
>
>
> Some non-education staff members here feel that groups should be
> _not_ permitted to visit if they meet both of these points: 1)
> they are a drop in group that are under high school age and 2)
> there is no education staff member able to provide a tour.
>
>
>
> This has made me curious as to other institutional policies with
> regard to this.
>
> * What is your policy with “drop-in” groups – are they
> permitted in your museum?
> * If so, do you have age/grade level requirements?
> * Are they turned away if they don’t meet your requirements?
>
>
>
> Thank you in advance for the information!
>
>
>
> Adrienne Romano
>
>
>
> ___________________________
>
>
>
> Adrienne Neszmelyi-Romano
>
> Curator of Education
>
> James A. Michener Art Museum
>
> 138 South Pine Street
>
> Doylestown, PA 18901
>
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> --
> Dan Bartlett
> Curator of Exhibits and Education
> Instructor of Museum Studies
> Logan Museum of Anthropology
> Beloit College
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--
Patrick McQuillan
Education & Outreach Specialist
"Advancing awareness and understanding of seismology &
Earth science while inspiring careers in geophysics"
IRIS
1200 New York Ave., NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: 202-682-2220
Fax: 202-682-2444
www.iris.edu
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