• Reach Advisors/James Chung "The Relevance of Children’s Museums in Today’s World"

• RC2/Peter Henseler "Your Museum Visitors as Consumers"

• Born Learning - Engaging Your Community in Early Learning

InterActivity 2007 Salon Presentation
Town Square . . . or Town Playground—The Relevance of Children’s Museums in Today’s World
James Chung and Susie Wilkening


The Research
• Spring ’07 children’s museums visitor survey:
• 5500 parents / grandparents from 33 US museums
• Surveys of museum associations in NY, OH, NC
• Consumer research / demographic analysis
• 10,000+ households for client work

Big Questions:
• How relevant are children’s museums to children and parents?
• Do children’s museums serve all their community?
• Town playground . . . or town square?

Typical Respondent
• Female
• Caucasian
• Gen Xer (in 30s)
• College education
• Oldest child: 2 – 4
• Above average income
• Visit: 7+ times/year

Why They Visit
• 64% for learning opportunities
– 64.6% of general population visit museums to “Gain Knowledge”
• 63% to spend time together
– 44% of general population visit museums to socialize
Sources: Reach Advisors, The Urban Institute/The Wallace Foundation

Why They Join or Give
• 54% to pay for services received
• 44% to save money
• 43% to help children’s organizations
• 37% to help museum improve
• 1.5% because they “were asked”

The Good News . . .or a Sense of Complacency?
• 66% report “good job” representing different cultures, races, ethnicities
• 43% believe you engage children “of all ages”
• 58% report “good exhibits”
• 48% report “good facility”

. . . and the Not so Good
• 34% feel the museum meets the needs of their family
• 12% think the staff “really cares” about them
• 21% want more for older children
• 22% write in “other” areas where museum falls short
– Safety
– Cleanliness
• 11% think the museum helps bring the community together

Staff
• “ . . . are the on-thefloor staff allowed to interact with children?”
• “She greets all the children by name and makes them feel special.”

Safety
• While 47% considered the museum “safe” . . . many parents expressed grave concerns
• The “Chuck E. Cheese” method?
• Port Discovery, Baltimore

“My kids always get sick after visiting”
• “One of the important factors about Kidsquest is that it was well maintained and clean.”
• Clean well, clean often

Visitor Lifecycle
Young Parents – in the Bubble
• Parents: late 20s, early 30s
• First child: under 2
• Visit: 7+ times/year
• Budget-minded
• Most likely to feel museum meets their needs
• Focused on family

As Children Get Older
• Parents: in 30s
• Membership peaks when oldest child is 2 – 4
• Children hit 5 – 7, visitation drops sharply
• Less satisfied with exhibits and programs
• Growing awareness of issues of community and diversity

Aging Out
• Parents: Late 30s, early 40s
• Oldest turns 8, another sharp visitation decline
• Decline in membership
• Least happy with museum
• More likely to visit other museums
• More focused on issues of community and diversity

Grandparents: Different Motivations
• Visit less often
• Slightly less likely to join than parents
– 77% join vs. 81% of parents
• Join to help children’s organizations or help the museum improve
• Much more positive about the museum
• Most focused on issues of community and diversity

Diversity and the Children’s Museum
• 66% feel children’s museum is doing a good job representing different races, cultures, ethnicities
• 28% not sure or haven’t noticed

Diversity and the Children’s Museum
• 65%: Extremely important to expose children to different races and cultures
– Most heavily engaged parents
• 31%: Somewhat important
– Somewhat less engaged parents
• 4%: Not important
– Least engaged parents

How Important Is It?
• Extremely Important vs. Somewhat Important
• More likely to give to support children’s organizations
• Less likely to give to save money
• More likely to visit other museums
• More likely to seek communities with:
– Strong institutions
– A “sense of place”

How Important Is It?
• Extremely Important vs. Somewhat Important
• 4.5x more likely to seek diverse populations
• 4.5x more likely to seek a diverse and integrated community

Who Notices Diversity?

Who Notices Diversity?


Expanding Scope of Diversity
• Socio-economic
• Physical disabilities
• Developmental disabilities
• Autism

Diversity in the Museum . . . Making it “seem second nature”
•Exhibits, especially changing exhibits
•Special programs & events
•Incorporate into daily operations
– Diverse audience, staff, board, volunteers

Town Playground . . .Or Town Square?
Children’s Museums and the Town Square
• “I don’t think about ‘community’ for museums.”
vs.
• “We think the Children’s Museum is an important resource for the community and it’s one of the reasons we chose to live in Bloomington-Normal.”

Children’s Museums and the Town Square
• Benefits of serving as community hub
• Visitation
• Audience diversity
• Membership
• Program income
• Local financial support
• Community relevance
Source: Reach Advisors surveys of museums in NY, OH, NC

Children’s Museums and the Town Square
• Not magic, just focused attention
• Host community meetings
• Determine better programming fit
• Increase community leadership roles
• Accelerate external partnerships
– ‘Partnership DNA’
Source: Reach Advisors surveys of museums in NY, OH, NC

Partnerships
• Please Touch Museum/Philadelphia Family Court
• Grand Rapids Children’s Museum/Well House
• Exploris/Refugee Women’s Micro-Enterprise Initiative

“It's one of the things that makes Stevens Point a great place to live.”

Partnership DNA:
Central Wisconsin Children’s Museum
Expand – Into Your Community
• “Partner w/other area museums for combined exhibits”
• Satellite exhibits and programs:
• Schools
• Houses of worship
• Community centers
• Y’s
• Ballparks, etc.

Children’s Museums and the Town Square
• Multi-generational activities
• Socio-economic assistance
• Free pass programs
• Volunteerism

Children’s Museums or Family Museum?
• Children’s museums impact parents as much as children.
The more they visit, the more parents are:
• Happier with children’s museum
• Far more likely to notice how you handle diversity in the museum – and to care
• Far more likely to seek diverse communities with strong institutions

Town Playground . . . or Town Square?
• Parents
• Partnerships
• Relevance

For more information about thistopic or other marketing strategy and research issues:
James Chung
james@reachadvisors.com
Susie Wilkening
susie@reachadvisors.com
Reach Advisors
617 489 6180

Back to Top

Overview
o Today's Mom
o Tomorrow's Mom
o Consumer Trends and Implications

Download Henseler Salon Presentation

Back to Top