Natalie - your situation is not as specific to your place as you might think, and raises good questions about orientation from which we all might benefit. So please, I hope responses are posted to the list. That's what the list is for! 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 <http://www.landmarksociety.org/> Confessions of a Preservationist: The Landmark Society blog <http://landmarksocietywny.blogspot.com/> Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12149056258> / MySpace <http://www.myspace.com/landmarksociety> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Natalie Bari Sent: Friday, August 08, 2008 5:01 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Orientation Procedures for Historic House Museums Museum-L members, I am presently waging a battle with my docents over tour orientations, and could use soe advice. Our standard tour length is 50 minutes to 1 hour, covering the story of the three families who occupied the house, the house's three main living levels, and the ongoing story of the restoration and interpretation of the historic house museum. Two of house's floors are not accessible to the general public except during the guided tour; general admission is $8.00. Pre and post- tour guest are free to wander about the Ground Floor, for which there is no charge for admission. FYI - the house actually has 7 floors and occupies 18000 sq. ft.; only seasonal specialty tours visit all seven levels. So far, taking all of the above into account, my philosophy has been to maximize time spent on those floors in order to make sure each customer feels that he/she has gotten his/her money's worth. The problem? In order to facilitate this, I have instituted a policy that orientations should last absolutely no longer than 15 minutes and I have re-located our orientation panels to a hallway. Orientations were previously about 20 minutes and took place in room with a couple of dozen green plastic chairs set-out for guests. Both guide & guests were encouraged to sit-down. By moving orientation to the hall and making it a standing orientation, I thought this would encourage abbreviated orientations. (FYI - chairs can be made available for guests who need them.) Non-critical details once given during orientation would then be sprinkled throughout the tour as guests moved from room to room. I am now facing a mutiny led by my most vocal docents. So, now that you have my lengthy back-story my questions are as follows: How are orientations being conducted at other historic house museums? Is it too much to ask a guest to stand for an hour long tour? Is it necessary to have a special room set-aside for orientation? I appreciate any and all responses, even if they suggest my rationale was erroneous. Please reply to me directly (off-list), as I realize that not everyone wants to follow my saga. Thanks, Natalie Bari Hay House Education Coordinator Natalie Bari 870.897.6288 [log in to unmask] "Story of my life. I always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop." --Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Kane in Some Like It Hot ========================================================= 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).