This isn't necessarily the advice you asked for, but my immediate question was "why is a single department making their own mission statement?" Obviously I know nothing about your team and your larger museum, but something as serious and thoughtful as a mission statement feels like it needs to be shared across the whole institution, rather than any one department. If the museum has one declared, supposedly unified mission, and then individual departments start making their own, what's the point of the institutional mission statement? Put differently, what is missing from the institutional mission statement that makes a department feel like they aren't on board with the mission, or included in it? And if your museum is lacking an overall mission statement, maybe you have the chance to use the work you're doing to lead the way to creating something meaningful that will reach far beyond your department and will shape your institution for the better.
Again, this isn't the question you were asking, but it's the question I asked when I saw yours. You know what you need more than us random Internet strangers, but I just wonder if there's some departmental and institutional introspection that needs to happen.
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Sean Mobley
Volunteer Coordinator/Podcast Host
The Museum of Flight
Seattle WA
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2023 12:57 PM
From: Claire Champ
Subject: Mission statement for a museum department focused on visitor experience/engagement? Request for examples
Dear AAM colleagues,
I am part of a working group drafting a mission statement for our large department that focuses on visitor engagement in many dimensions at a major history museum. The branch includes people who work on: digital products (videos, multimedia, interactives and web apps), education (school programs and public programs), exhibitions (designers, interpretive planners), security (security of visitors and artifacts), and visitor services (delivery of services and experiences).
Our team is interested in seeing models of mission statements that include some or all of these functions and put emphasis on visitor experience, audience engagement and development, and/or visitor-centered services.
Would anyone have a related mission statement that they could share?
I have been looking at archived discussions on vision and mission statements on this forum and am already benefitting from the advice shared about how to develop statements and elements to include.
It is great to be able to reach out to this community.
Thank you for your help,
Claire
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Claire Champ
(she/her)
Creative Development Specialist
Canadian Museum of History
Gatineau, QC
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