There are a variety of factors to consider in this, depending on  
the museum's location, mission, etc. For us, most of our visitors are  
from out of town, and most of them aren't staying here overnight, so  
day time hours work just fine. I would think that museums in major  
urban centers might have different audiences and different needs in  
their communities. Our small community is not exactly hopping after  
dark, and our small museum (1,200 sq. feet) is probably not the place  
to make it hop.

    In addition, our front-line staff is all volunteer, generally  
retired folks who want to spend part of their day here. I do shudder  
to think how they would respond to a request for evening service.

    To answer the original e-mail, we are open 10-4 Mon-Sat and 1-4  
Sun in the winter, 9:30-4:30 Mon-Sat and 1-4 Sun in summer. Closed  
four holidays during the year (Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years and  
Easter). We have had a few requests to stay open until 5 but, to my  
knowledge, have never been asked for hours later than that.

Heather McClenahan, assistant director/web master
Los Alamos Historical Society
http://www.losalamoshistory.org
[log in to unmask]
PO Box 43
1050 Bathtub Row (Note: same location, new address)
Los Alamos, NM 87544
505-662-6272 (office)
505-470-2912 (cell)

Quoting Cindy Boyer <[log in to unmask]>:

> I raised this very question at a week-long museum institute this   
> past autumn - and saw a shudder go through the group!
>
> I wondered why we keep, for the most part, "bankers hours."  The   
> shudder was the result of a number of overwhelmed, over-committed   
> professionals, whose initial reaction was - one more thing!
>
> My two small historic house museums have lighting issues, so evening  
>  hours are currently not practical most of the year without a  
> serious  investment in upgrades.
>
> I am curious to hear if others are doing more evening hours.  I   
> think it would take some targeted marketing - we expect the movies   
> or the mall or the amusement park to be open late. Will the public   
> think of us when they are considering evening options?
>
> 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]
>  
> 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 Garet Bleddynn
> Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 11:51 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Question on Operating Hours
>
> Good morning, all,
>
> I just had some random questions about operating hours that I wanted
> to ask. This is not a part of any project or class-related activity.
> It's just for my own personal curiosity and education so you can feel
> free to e-mail me privately at [log in to unmask] unless the folks on
> the list think this will be helpful.
>
> 1. What days of the week and hours are you open?
>
> I know here at the Tennessee State Museum where I am interning, the
> museum is open Tuesday through Sunday. Tuesday through Saturday, the
> museum is open from 10am-5pm. On Sunday, the museum is open from
> 1pm-5pm. I know it seems to me this limits families going to museums.
> They would have to attend on either Saturday or Sunday.
>
> I remember reading a paper by Dana in our public history seminar where
> he commented on museums' operating hours and locations as needing to
> correspond with the communities they seek to serve. This got me to
> thinking, always a dangerous thing. If museums are trying to involve
> the communities, and if we acknowledge that museums are competing with
> other recreational activities for time and money, then maybe we need
> to review the hours?
>
> If I work Monday-Friday from 8-5, let's examine my recreational
> options. That theme park might be open until anywhere from 7pm-9pm. If
> I want to go to a movie, I can go to a 9:00pm or later showing. If I
> want to browse the web, that's 24/7. If I want to go to the mall,
> that's open until, at least, 9pm, even later now that it's the Holiday
> hours.
>
> I just had to wonder. I've seen very large crowds for after-hours
> events both at the museum and even at the local zoo. What do you think
> your visitation might be like if your hours were 12-8? Also, what kind
> of staffing issues do you run into with trying something like this?
>
> Thanks for indulging a graduate student's curiosity!
> Garet
>
> --
> M. Garet Bleddynn
>
> ========================
> It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to any pursuit.
>
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