Open Forum

Hello all,

I am writing to invite you and your collections staff to participate in a brief survey about how museum scientists and staff engage with the public in their collections. We are interested in learning more about the desires of staff and the feasibility of engaging the public in museum collections and look forward to sharing the results with members of this listserv as a resource for those considering or currently offering collections tours. 

We are interested in the perspectives of paid staff (rather than volunteers) who work in U.S.-based science museums and cultural heritage sites with collections. This includes anthropology/archaeology museums, natural history museums, science/technology museums, and arboretums/botanical gardens with collections. A collection may be defined as a set of material or intangible objects (works, artifacts, specimens, archive documents, testimonies, etc.) which an individual or establishment has assembled, classified, selected, and preserved in a safe setting.   

The survey should take about 7-10 minutes to complete. There are no direct benefits to participating, but as mentioned, we do plan to share our findings with this community.  

Would you please share this survey with your collections staff? 

https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6RPTEHruSm45k90 

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, the Principal Investigator, Dr. Megan Ennes, at megan.ennes@ufl.edu. I am the Assistant Curator of Museum Education and Director of the UF Thompson Earth Systems Institute (TESI) in the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. This survey underwent IRB approval and has been deemed exempt.  

Thanks,

Megan 

Hello all,

I am writing to invite you and your collections staff to participate in a brief survey about how museum scientists and staff engage with the public in their collections. We are interested in learning more about the desires of staff and the feasibility of engaging the public in museum collections and look forward to sharing the results with members of this listserv as a resource for those considering or currently offering collections tours. 

We are interested in the perspectives of paid staff (rather than volunteers) who work in U.S.-based science museums and cultural heritage sites with collections. This includes anthropology/archaeology museums, natural history museums, science/technology museums, and arboretums/botanical gardens with collections. A collection may be defined as a set of material or intangible objects (works, artifacts, specimens, archive documents, testimonies, etc.) which an individual or establishment has assembled, classified, selected, and preserved in a safe setting.   

The survey should take about 7-10 minutes to complete. There are no direct benefits to participating, but as mentioned, we do plan to share our findings with this community.  

Would you please share this survey with your collections staff? 

https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6RPTEHruSm45k90 

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, the Principal Investigator, Dr. Megan Ennes, at megan.ennes@ufl.edu. I am the Assistant Curator of Museum Education and Director of the UF Thompson Earth Systems Institute (TESI) in the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. This survey underwent IRB approval and has been deemed exempt.  

Thanks,

Megan