More thoughts... >Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 23:26:14 -0800 >From: Lucy Skjelstad <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Re: the Gen-X thread >MIME-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >I suspect that every generation of youth (or Gen-Xers or whatever) is >essentially the same. Few find museums an attraction. > >My theory is that children are abundantly curious, are fascinated by >things they have never seen before, or have never seen in person. Kids are soaking >up the wonder of the world. They tend to like museums a lot if they have >the ability to sort of explore and observe, and not get 'talked at' too >much. >Teens, however, reach a stage of life when they have seen and learned a >lot (and may think they have seen and learned every thing worth seeing >or learning). Psychologically they are in a place of intensely looking >forward in their lives. >I think museums need to recognize these life-stages, and not beat >themselves over the head for not attracting teens. Though wouldn't it >be fun to work on some exhibits that have the kind of stuff that youth >would enjoy and find relevant. ("A Century of Dating"?) How about a >teen panel to generate ideas for exhibit and program topics? > >Lucy Skjelstad >Corvallis, Oregon I heartily agree with all this... AND regarding this next message: Yes, museums are great! I know that, and you know that, but do we really represent a large proportion of people in our age group? (I am in the upper threshold of the 18-25 group presently myself) No. You have to be very careful, as I stated before, to step outside of being a 'museum person' when you try to design programs and outreach for a public whose interests you may not represent directly. To many teens and college-aged people, the reasons that museums are great are not so obvious, and a way needs to be found to reach them. It's a simple fact of life that the largest proportion of visitors fall in a slightly more middle-aged bracket. That does not take away from the intense interest some younger people have in museums, but let's not be myopic. I guess the problem is how to recruit a focus group panel as Lucy Skjelstad suggested above, without encountering selection bias in finding your sample... >--JESOZRcIXJSHKCGbPZNEOKeAKaWYUQ >Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 13:31:03 -0600 >From: "C. Laibly" <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Re: the Gen-X thread >MIME-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII > I take myself to museums. I go with friends and/or my significant >other. I will take my kids there. > They are such excellent places to get a visual and a real idea of >the many things you have read about in the dry classroom environment of >middle school, high school, and college. I just can't understand how >ANYONE would not want to spend a weekend here and there in a museum, >learning from a firsthand knowledge base. Getting the whole picture of a >subject, so to speak. > >WhaHoO! Luv those museums...Baby! > > >Chad Laibly >University of Iowa >B.S. Geology >Museum Studies >Undergrad (two months left!!!)