Open Forum

Hello Everyone,

I am the Director of Operations of a small children's museum in Maryland. Recently we have had issues with visitors not following museum rules - particularly our policy of child supervision at all times. 

I am the only paid employee and we rely heavily on volunteers to man the museum. We do not have a large volunteer staff base and cannot afford to higher more people. 

What would you recommend to better enforce the rules? We have the rules listed on a sign in the front entrance and we go over them with larger groups. It's just on days where we are extremely busy we have issues with enforcement. 

Thanks!

------------------------------
Brittany Wedd
Operations Director
Discovery Station at Hagerstown, Inc.
Hagerstown MD
------------------------------

Hi Brittany--You might consider putting your message into a positive form. Rather than "rules," list your desired behavior as "Your Key to a Safe and Successful Visit." Instead of "don't leave your child unattended," perhaps something like "Play together with your child and be sure they can always see you." Post your guidelines throughout the museum, not just at the front, so that staff and volunteers can easily reference them when visitors need a gentle reminder.

------------------------------
Ruth Shelly
Executive Director
Portland Children's Museum
Portland OR

Original Message:
Sent: 11-08-2016 12:19 PM
From: Brittany Wedd
Subject: Enforcing Museum Rules

Hello Everyone,

I am the Director of Operations of a small children's museum in Maryland. Recently we have had issues with visitors not following museum rules - particularly our policy of child supervision at all times. 

I am the only paid employee and we rely heavily on volunteers to man the museum. We do not have a large volunteer staff base and cannot afford to higher more people. 

What would you recommend to better enforce the rules? We have the rules listed on a sign in the front entrance and we go over them with larger groups. It's just on days where we are extremely busy we have issues with enforcement. 

Thanks!

------------------------------
Brittany Wedd
Operations Director
Discovery Station at Hagerstown, Inc.
Hagerstown MD
------------------------------