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  • 1.  Managing "Free Day" crowds -- what are your strategies/policies?

    Posted 06-11-2019 06:12 PM
    Hello Colleagues,

    Our museum is free on the first Thursday of every month -- part of a "First Thursdays" tradition that includes most museums and galleries in the city. We are also open until 8 pm that day, extended from our usual 5 pm closing time.  It's always been a full, long day with lots of visitors who probably wouldn't otherwise come, and for the most part we are happy and proud to be able to offer this opportunity. Lately, however, we have seen an increase in large school groups coming on that day, without any notice or scheduling. We can't provide guided tours (those have usually all been booked up), so they are sent on "self-guided" tours led by their parent/teacher chaperones. (Sometimes these chaperones are not especially effective at crowd control, but that happens with paid groups too :) )

    We are getting to the point where it's feeling like a security issue -- with a school group or two filling our small lobby, it's hard for front desk staff to monitor the comings and goings of other folks, or to provide good customer service to visitors not affiliated with the group. (The way our lobby is laid out, it's very difficult to intercept the group before they enter, and would cause even more chaos if we asked them to go back out to wait outside.) With 100+ children roaming around the museum, it can be hard for anyone (including them) to have an educational experience -- or even a pleasant experience. We've checked in with some schools/groups who have done this multiple times, and they are not really willing/able to pay, or to give us a heads up that they'll be coming in... So we are trying to figure out what our options might be to improve this situation. Things we've considered:

    - Timed entry -- like, tell them they're welcome to come in, but we're staggering their entry times so we can manage the crowd size a little better. There are some things to do/see in the neighborhood, so they might not feel totally stranded if we put them off for an hour or two. But they might.

    - Give them a rain-check for another day -- not sure how this would work, since they've already gotten it together to come *that* day -- but maybe we could gather enough contact info to work it out for next time?

    - Expand our free days to twice a month (or more) so everyone isn't trying to come on the same day. (We need the revenue, so this is tough -- but the huge crowds are costly in other ways, so maybe worth it?)

    Any thoughts/experiences/suggestions? I'm sure this issue is not unique to us.

    Thanks in advance,

    Mikala


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    Mikala Woodward
    Exhibit Developer
    Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience
    Seattle WA
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  • 2.  RE: Managing "Free Day" crowds -- what are your strategies/policies?

    Posted 06-12-2019 08:28 AM
       Your basic instincts on this matter are good.  Here are a few notions. Agreed that you should not be afraid to hold , or turn away, groups that would degrade the quality of the Museum exp by overcrowding.

        Have someone at the entrance instructed hold unscheduled group visits.   have that person, or another available, assigned to give an orientation that is three things.
    • Ascertain the name of the school and the number of students and teachers/chaperones and who is the group leader. (This is basic safety really)
    • Greet them and orient them to the museum and indicate where they should regroup before departure.
    • Specifically indicate what your institution's rules are regarding students sticking together (or not) with chaperones/teachers and the preferred level of respectful deportment.
    Use the information gathered
    • Market to the Schools/Groups that showed up directly. like a rain check but more positive with a calendar scheduled discount to see a special event, ed. outreach programming, or  testing new installations or ideas.
    • If a group is out of control notify the school or organization that sent them. Be prepared when they return to treat them carefully and with respect.
    Last idea - train office staff to work short shifts on the floor during the free day.  They'll get to know the public and floor staff  better.

         You recognized the need and you have the operational exp. in your museum to know what works best. Good Visitor Services will always show up to the museums's beach, the front door, and use it skills to "surf on" whatever the public brings.

    --
    Eric Marr
    Assistant Aviation Curator
    NMMC




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  • 3.  RE: Managing "Free Day" crowds -- what are your strategies/policies?

    Posted 06-12-2019 09:02 AM
    Your free day being a weekday instead of a weekend definitely complicates things!

    For self-guided groups we started handing out chaperone lanyards - there is a name badge holder on the lanyard with bright paper that says CHAPERONE on the front and has rules/tips for visiting on the back. Rules are basically, take control of your group, no touching, no running/climbing; and the tips are things like sit on the floor to look and have conversations, go outside if you need a break, use your imagination...things like that. 

    We find it does 2 things - 1) helps or associates identify group leaders if there is an issue and 2) makes volunteer chaperones feel a bit more empowered during their trip. We also have the lead chaperone sign a group agreement that basically lists all the rules and says if there are too many issues we will ask them to leave (I think we have only had to do that once).

    Our museum is large enough to handle some pretty big crowds, but we have an experimental gallery students LOVE and that area is small. We have that area monitored during busy days and often tell groups to explore more and come back later and once they enter they can only play for about 15-20 minutes so that everyone can have a turn. 

    I don't think telling groups they have to wait to come in is bad at all, especially for safety and service reasons. If you can give them another idea of what to do during their wait that is helpful (do you have a sculpture garden, or a near-by park, or a cool walking-tour they could do before they come in?).

    I would also recommend putting on your website an area specifically for free Thursdays and have information about visiting with groups. There you can tell them anything you need and if they are upset about having to wait or anything you can say "hey, the information was on our website"

    Best of luck,
    Amanda Kepner
    Sr. Manager for Institutional Processes
    Columbus Museum of Art

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    Amanda Kepner
    Manager for Learning and Experience Operations
    Columbus Museum of Art
    Columbus OH
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    AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo, Baltimore, May 16-19, 2024, click to learn more


  • 4.  RE: Managing "Free Day" crowds -- what are your strategies/policies?

    Posted 06-12-2019 11:04 AM
    We participate in Free Museum Day every September. It's great that we can accommodate the people that might not visit us, but, the large volume of people it attracts can definitely cause safety concerns (both for guests and the collection). We aren't very large, so I place staff/volunteers in strategic areas to help keep the flow of guests moving (and also safe guard the artwork). 

    We only let a set amount of people into the galleries in 15 minute intervals which does help maintain the flow as well. People see another group of folks starting to enter the gallery they have been in and naturally move forward. 

    While it may not specifically address the issue of the school groups coming in unannounced, perhaps the timed ticket idea you proposed would allow you to restrict the flow a little bit more. If you give a school group a set time frame to travel through the galleries, then they are compelled to tour in a more orderly fashion. Perhaps you could also create a highlights of your collection or scavenger hunt brochure to give to the students which would still provide some level of educational experience given the circumstances?

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    Andrew Schlauch
    Executive Director of the Chihuly Collection
    Morean Arts Center
    Saint Petersburg FL
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  • 5.  RE: Managing "Free Day" crowds -- what are your strategies/policies?

    Posted 06-12-2019 04:49 PM
    Hello Mikala, a thought about your crowd problem on First Thursdays. How about having a special policy for groups, asking that they reserve a date and time in advance. As schools always organize their outings in advance and never do things spontaneously as individual museum goers may, it seems normal to me that they should be able to deal with letting you know when they are planning to come.​

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    Valeria Kondratiev
    The Frick Collection
    New York NY
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  • 6.  RE: Managing "Free Day" crowds -- what are your strategies/policies?

    Posted 06-12-2019 06:54 PM

    Mikala,

     

    Just south of you we only have free entry on First Thursday after 5:00 PM and stay open until 9:00 PM. We do get small after-school groups like Scout Troops and youth groups but not massive school groups as those kiddos went home hours before we opened. This works very well for us, we have several thousands of visitors, some of whom probably went to Wing Luke earlier that day, on the average free first Thursday evening in those hours but we are also a large campus and can absorb a large crowd pretty effectively. However we've also always had those as our free hours, at least for the last 20 years or so, so it's one thing for us as that's the precedent we've set since the start. I can forsee for you to change to this, even if it may be the right solution (or it might not!) would be a year-long process of advertising the change for several months before the change, and then dealing with people who didn't get the messaging for the following month. Because we are somewhat of the odd museum out in the Seattle First Thursday scene, we do get a handful of visitors each First Thursday showing up thinking it's free all day as most others around here are, but that's a pretty minimal number.

     

    Presumably one of the reasons you would like to get school groups in on different days is because you can offer a tailored experience for their students that enriches their curriculum and classroom education with museum-based informal education. Maybe part of your solution is to keep track of these classes that are attending and creating a marketing plan to work with these schools and teachers to help them see how a scheduled education program, while it may not be free, can much better meet their needs.

     

    Sean

    Sean Mobley | Volunteer Coordinator
    The Museum of Flight
    9404 East Marginal Way S
    Seattle, WA 98108
    Work: +1 (206) 768-7151
    www.museumofflight.org




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  • 7.  RE: Managing "Free Day" crowds -- what are your strategies/policies?

    Posted 06-13-2019 01:37 PM
    Thanks, everyone, for your thoughtful and helpful responses! I really like the "chaperone" badge idea (for all groups, not just self-guided) and the handout with a scavenger hunt or other directed activities for self-guided groups would probably help. If we do go the timed entry route, it would be very helpful to have a handout with ideas/activities for spending an hour or so in the neighborhood -- there is plenty to do, for sure. It does seem like we're going to need to bite the bullet and assign more staff to the front desk and galleries on these days. But that's probably better on balance than having to spend time and money cleaning up after unruly crowds, or trying to assuage unhappy visitors. 

    (And just to clarify, we do offer group reservations for both guided and self-guided tours, and a discount for Title 1 schools... It is totally bizarre to me that a school would go to all the trouble of coordinating a field trip without contacting the destination institution, but they do it -- sometimes repeatedly. I suspect some of them are simply looking to avoid paying, and are afraid we will refuse them if they give us any warning. But it would be good (as some of you have suggested) to do some more digging about what they are thinking and how we can accommodate them more effectively.)

    Thanks again!

    Mikala

    ------------------------------
    Mikala Woodward
    Exhibit Developer
    Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience
    Seattle WA
    ------------------------------

    AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo, Baltimore, May 16-19, 2024, click to learn more


  • 8.  RE: Managing "Free Day" crowds -- what are your strategies/policies?

    Posted 06-13-2019 02:08 PM

    Hi Mikala,

    We require groups (10+) to call/email ahead at least 15 days in advance to make reservations: both guided and self-guided groups. Reservations are secured based on the available time slots we provide to the groups. This however, doesn't help your situation with the school groups who don't have the money to pay for tours.

    We launched a free school tours program two years ago, and it has been very successful. It allows us to be adequately prepared to host school groups, as we control the terms. The overall (set) schedule is something we worked out internally based on our bandwidth, which helps provide consistency not just for our tour leaders, who are volunteers, but for our support staff (front desk, security) and for our museum staff, who coordinate tours with our college faculty colleagues - another group we need to be able to accommodate on a regular basis. Doing a "launch" allowed us to be out in front and set the terms: we had press releases galore which outlined the school tour terms from the get-go. We also proactively communicated the new program to teachers in all the school districts within our county and surrounding counties.

    Additionally, we offer support for school bus transportation to Pre-K-12 grade public schools requesting a guided museum tour. Buses are offered on a first-come, first-served basis, while funds are available. Based on a survey conducted with local teachers, we found that paying for busing was one of the biggest obstacles in getting students to the FAC. This has made a big difference for some of our school districts, who otherwise would not be able to organize a field trip to come here and introduce their kiddos to the world of art and theater! The added bonus to this is that we incentivize the behavior (on the part of teachers/schools) that requires advance planning of requesting the guided tour. We are fortunate to be able to offer this opportunity to our community because it has been funded by a generous donor for the past two years. I highly recommend looking into something like this and working with your development officer to see if there is a company or an individual who might consider underwriting this worthy program (you could also wrap in cost of admission if needed). Our school tours program has seen a significant increase in reservations in the past two years, and we anticipate the numbers to continue to grow. Furthermore, with this structured and publicized program in place, we very rarely have large groups showing up unannounced.



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    Rebecca McCaskill
    Patron Experience Director
    Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College
    Colorado Springs CO
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