Kirsten, is this an activity that the parents will do with their children, or are they leaving them in your care?
How many children do you anticipate you can accommodate for each session? What are your expenses - both materials and staff?
While there may not be another house museum in your area, I think its also important to consider what parents pay for their kids to go to a movie, go to a children's entertainment restaurant (like Chuckie Cheese) or to play miniature golf.
We charge $5 per child only when it is a defined group - a class or a camp - and I know there will be at least $100 coming in. For non reservation events, we charge $7 or $8 - but put a cap on it with a family charge of $12. That is for an event with no craft activity, but does include complimentary popcorn.
It's a delicate balance to attract an audience (especially if this is a new thing) and not break your budget doing it.
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
[log in to unmask]
Fax: (585) 546-4788
The Landmark Society: Revitalizing Yesterday, Protecting Today, and Planning for Tomorrow
www.landmarksociety.org
Confessions of a Preservationist: The Landmark Society blog
Facebook / MySpace
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dollie Boyd
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2010 10:22 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Summer Programming - Cost?
I agree with you, that price is a little steep. We typically charge $5 per child with one parent/guardian free for a 1.5 hour program with at least one activity where they make a take home craft or art work. We do not provide lunch. Have them bring a sack lunch and cut down on your cost and hassle. Do you have supplies and materials on hand or will you have to go out and buy a bunch of stuff to make this happen?
Always happy to share info and ideas with other historic house museums, my contact is below. Good luck!
Dollie Boyd
Manager of School Programs
Doak House Museum
Tusculum College
423-636-8554
1-800-729-0256 ext. 5251
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kirsten Teasdale
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2010 10:03 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Summer Programming - Cost?
We're planning on offering some children's activities this summer and I was
wondering what other museums charge for similar activities. We're a small
historic house museum, so these will not be on a particularly grand scale,
and will likely last 1-2 hours each. The activities will be in a 2 week
rotation, with the first week consisting of a scavenger hunt, a portrait
painting workshop, an open fire cooking workshop + lunch, and an 18th
century herb garden + planting workshop, and the second week consisting of a
"behind the scenes" museum tour, a pottery making workshop, an outdoor games
+ kite making workshop, and a candle dipping workshop.
My Board thinks $20 per activity ($75 for a package of 4) is a fair price,
but I say this is steep for what's being offered. What is a good price
point, in your experience?
Many thanks,
Kirsten
----------------------------
Kirsten Teasdale
Education Director, The Conference House Association
Email: [log in to unmask]
Phone: 718-984-0415
Fax: 718-984-7760
The Conference House Park
298 Satterlee Street
Staten Island, NY 10307
http://www.conferencehouse.org/
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
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).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
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).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
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).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
