Greetings all,

Is there anyone out there who could give me some advice about museum tour booking procedures and limits? 

 

The museum where I work has recently undergone a management transition from a state government run facility to a private, non-profit with a board of directors.  Our site used to be seasonal (Memorial through Labor Day), operating a quasi-living history program at various historic structures.   Since the management transition we are open year round with a renewed emphasis on our museum building and galleries versus our outdoor “park” structures.  In the summer we get a decent amount of “senior tour bus” traffic and student group tours have been increasing year-round. 

 

Basically it is my job to write tour scripts, train the guides, and conduct on-going evaluation of the museum tour program.  Another staff person is in charge of actually booking the tours.  It is her belief that we want as many groups as possible, the larger the better; so often times she books groups of such a large size that I believe the quality of the experience is diluted.  I have suggested that a tour guide can effectively manage groups of 20 to 25 people at a time.  Also for staff scheduling purposes I believe we should ask that group tours be scheduled two weeks in advance. 

 

These ideas have met with resistance, as other staff believe this would mean turning away group tours (revenue) on certain days.  I think it’s totally reasonable to say that we can accommodate a particular number of people at a certain time, kind of like seating capacity.  For example, lets say a group calls and wants to book a tour for 50 people on a day when we already have a group of 80.  We could give them the option of coming on another day or experiencing the museum that day  on a self-guided basis. 

 

Is this a common issue in museums?  I’m relatively new to the field as I’ve been working as an education coordinator at Ironworld for a little under two years.  My previous career was that of a high school English teacher.  I compare tour group size to class size and think “the smaller the better” for individualized attention/quality experience. 

 

Any advice anyone has for how I can approach this problem with my co-workers would be much appreciated.      

Thanks.            

 

Jennifer Rian

Ironworld Education Coordinator

801 SW Hwy 169, Suite 1

Chisholm, MN 55719

218.254.7959 ext. 294

 

Featured in Ironworld’s Overlook Gallery May 22 through August 3,

Tangled Up in Ore: Bob Dylan and the Iron Range,

a homegrown exhibit with events and programming that highlight area artists.