What about the connection between museum shops and Education programs?  If
you use prisms, static sticks, magnets, etc. in your programs, are you
using the same ones that are available in your gift shop?  Do you point
this out?  While this may seem "capitalistic", your students will like
being able to have the same equipment that the "neat teacher at the museum
used!"

I have even done weekly public demos of some of the "science toys" in the
giftshop.  This gives you a chance to show a lot of the science behind the
toy.  It helps sales and gives you some fun, new topics for public demos.

Robert Krampf
Science Education Company
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