Some 20 years ago, a woman was found to have quickly dropped off her two kids outside the science center at which I was head of operations. It was three hours before closing on a Friday evening at an interactive museum with no general admission, and the kids were of similar ages to those you encountered. Lobby video would later show that, within five minutes of their entry, the younger child had maneuvered around a barricade to grab onto the handrail of the lobby escalator, hanging on the outside of the unit to ride it up. The escalator stopped at the second floor, some 16 feet above the lobby, and so did the child's ride. In his fall he shattered a wrist and forearm and suffered a concussion.
I was one of the staff deposed by the plaintiff's attorney, and I still recall the frustration - that, despite our own "must be accompanied by an adult" policy, it was viewed that the kids gained entry, albeit unintended, and therefore shelter in the absence of their parent. And so, despite our best efforts at providing stimulating and meaningful visitor experiences (as well as safety measures and security presence), museums and cultural sites are no better than "attractive nuisances" when it comes to parents skirting responsibility. A hefty settlement was paid, and within a few years, the escalator even removed in a lobby renovation.
My takeaway was that a stated policy may deflect some culpability - but not necessarily liability - for visitors, and those responsible for them, who choose to do the wrong thing.
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John Wharton
Museum Docent &
Retired Museum Professional
Bonita Springs FL
http://linkedin.com/in/john-wharton-9629149------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 08-04-2022 04:29 PM
From: Lauren T. Furey
Subject: Unaccompanied Minors policies?
We had a woman last week at our historic, active archaeology site who was "tired" and wanted to let her 9 and 11 year olds on site (they'd be free). She wanted to rest in the Visitors Center. We told her no.
As we are a private nonprofit in a partnership with the National Park Service, I reached out and am now in a long conversation with several NPS folks about some sort of policy. There is no policy with NPS about this. They said they defer to state law but that is only about children being left alone, not in a public place exposed to strangers, a river, an active archaeology site, etc.
I'm now in the process of writing a policy and have reached out to local museums and theme parks in our area so I have more oomph to my argument. The liability risk seems like it would be over the top.
I'm wondering how many other sites have policies in place, maybe even added to their websites, etc. If you would be willing to share, I would appreciate it.
Thanks for any assistance!
~Lauren
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Lauren T. Furey
Director of Visitor Services
Preservation Virginia
Newport News VA
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