>A question from a curious undergraduate:
>
>Museum attendances are decreasing?  If so, would it not make sense to perhaps
>compromise the intellectual atmosphere of museums to run educational programs
>for children with a focus on fun, excitement and creativity as opposed to
>more serious 'lecture-style' presentations which the kids get in school?
 
JOSHUA, JOSHUA, I couldn't let this go by. What exactly is it that people
find fun?
The Vancouver Museum has tremendous attendance for their kid's programming
but still we lose about 90,000 dollars per year providing this fun. It seems
that school boards do not want to pay more per child than  $1.00 each for
programming. So we are providing fun but they don't want to pay.
 
We have eliminated education programs for this year in an attempt to reduce
our deficit. Declining attendance figures (unless I'm mistaken) do not refer
to children's programming. It refers to adults and especially teenagers. You
have cited two ancient studies. Do you have more current info? I could use
some ammunition in trying to get more money from school boards. I could use
recent stats to say that early exposure to museums will enhance our economy
in the future. People spending money at cultural events when older will
lessen the necessity for public funding of the arts in the future.
 
I would love to know what adults find fun! We can pack them in for a food
festival or popular art exhibits like Robert Bateman, but to learn about
their past is another story.
 
Canadian museums have been asking themselves for 20 years "Are we supposed
to emulate Disneyland, the West Edmonton Mall or are we a learning institution?"
 
Linda Tanaka
Vancouver Museum