How high are the ceilings in your museum? I used to work at a natural history museum that did not allow any helium balloons to be brought in, even for special events. The explanation I got for the rule is that the museum has a very high atrium, and it's simply a huge pain in the butt to retrieve a balloon once it has risen to the ceiling. There may also have been concern over strings getting snagged on artifacts, but the high-ceiling issue was the main rationale for the ban. Margo Edwards -----Original Message----- >From: Jim Meeks <[log in to unmask]> >Sent: May 8, 2006 1:58 PM >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Balloons in Museums > >We have had several instances where children were allowed to take balloons >into the exhibit spaces. We haven't had anything happen yet and the current >policy is that it's OK for the children to have them, especially since we >gave them out as part of an activity. > >My fear is that a child will not be paying attention (nor will their >parents or the security guard) and the string will get caught on an ornate >frame or some 3-D work of art and something will get damaged or it will >come crashing down on the child or who knows what. > >Does anyone else have a policy regarding balloons being allowed in their >permanent collection and special exhibit galleries? > >========================================================= >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).