tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post3309488137077476287..comments2024-03-27T05:04:39.476-07:00Comments on Museum 2.0: What's Your Leisure Identity? Does it Bring You Into Museums?Nina Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11723930679606298550noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-31644777415106522682009-10-18T04:43:46.052-07:002009-10-18T04:43:46.052-07:00I just finished reading John Falk's inspiratio...I just finished reading John Falk's inspirational book. I work for an organisation who looks after 5 heritage sites. I will be certainly be looking at the extent to which we meet the needs of the 5 identity types defined by Falk.<br /><br />I have recently read that some museums make the mistake of trying too hard to be all things to all people. I think the beauty of Falk's model, however, is that it should be possible for most museums to provide something for each of them.<br /><br />On the other hand I would not see a museum as a "failure" if they did not, for example, provide outward bound type activities when these are better supplied by other organisations...this does then bring us onto the role of the museum, which I agree can be as narrow or broad as you care to define it!Jerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08424634861761168177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-28999441858463046122009-09-14T08:06:17.691-07:002009-09-14T08:06:17.691-07:00Thank you all for your comments, and congratulatio...Thank you all for your comments, and congratulations to James, whose name I randomly picked out of a bowl this morning. James, I will email you to find out where I can mail the book!<br /><br />And I'm definitely going to check out Peak - that sounds like a really interesting read. Thanks, Jessica, for the recommendation. <br /><br />And Leslie, if Marilyn Hood's article is still accessible somewhere on the web, I'm sure many of us would love to see it.Nina Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11723930679606298550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-65754962653459711112009-09-12T17:51:52.051-07:002009-09-12T17:51:52.051-07:00Emma,
One of the interesting things that came up i...Emma,<br />One of the interesting things that came up in John Falk and Beverly Sheppard's book Thriving in the Knowledge Age was Beverly's realization, while running a historic site, that members wanted to get to do all the cool stuff that volunteers and staff do. So they were actually able to offer programs where visitors paid to learn more about the work staff are paid to do! We need more maritime centers where visitors can hoist the sails, more historic sites where they can chop wood, etc. My partner is from a farming area and he's always shocked that urban people will pay to pick their own fruit, but what's leisure to one person is work to another. There's a good article on these differences <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115317337878109062.html" rel="nofollow">here.</a><br /><br />And yes, I will be in NZ for NDF and my partner and I are planning ten days in the middle for tramping - very exciting. He had knee surgery in April so we are thrilled that he will finally be able to join me back on the trail.Nina Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11723930679606298550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-63851051374832659792009-09-12T17:39:47.917-07:002009-09-12T17:39:47.917-07:00I guess my leisure identity is outdoors and physic...I guess my leisure identity is outdoors and physical-focussed too - this is what really seems to recharge my energy. So, like you, it isn't that often that I'd choose a museum as the first place to go for my leisure time, although the museum might be a stop-off on a bike ride or something.<br />But I do volunteer, at a maritime museum, in my leisure time, as a crew member on their working vessels, and sometimes in the workshop painting. Because it is physical, does challenge me, and there are chances for self-extension (e.g. you can get sea time for a professional maritime ticket), I keep coming back. But this is as a volunteer, rather than a visitor. <br />However this same museum <a rel="nofollow">(NZ National Maritime Museum)</a> has great interactive opportunities for kids through an education programme, and adults as visitors can go out on the boats, but the opportunities are more limited for really extending yourself as a visitor. But I think many visitors would love to do more, and as crew I always get heaps of people who would like to help raise sails, learn to coil rope or whatever. <br />So, I really enjoy reading your ideas about getting people to be active participants in museums - as I think people are often looking for more of that when they visit. I think more local people (rather than tourists) would become more regular visitors to museums if their leisure needs were met!<br />P.S. Are you still coming to the NDF? If so, I hope you get to spend a bit of your leisure time in the outdoors when you're in NZ!Emma C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18061361992944119896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-17646685777799664972009-09-12T10:56:56.211-07:002009-09-12T10:56:56.211-07:00RE: What is your Leisure Identity?
I have been ...RE: What is your Leisure Identity? <br />I have been thinking about the various features over museum visitors and education recently published. Your article just sent to me by e-mail, brought this to the front. There is a trend being promoted ever since Joe Pine drafted his ideas of Museums as a part of the “Experience Economy” and then used that model for all museums. This view weakens the distinction that should exist between a museum and a commercial venture that features museum like activities. It is a fallacy to expect to be enough for all people. However, it is enough to be excellent at meeting your own mission. By this I mean a well crafted and complete reason to be. It requires a flexible attitude toward visitors to meet what needs you can, but not to change their mission. <br />The various types of visitors that do exist often come to us in mixed clusters The mission, nature of the collections, and managerial realities create real limits to what types of experiences can or should be offered. Museums and cultural groups must cluster their offerings with different museums and partner with friendly for-profits. Museums play a part in their community to reach the whole person but should not try to do so themselves. <br /><br />Tom Mackie, Director<br />Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum<br />Lincoln Memorial University<br />Harrogate TN 37724Thomas Mackiehttp://www.lmunet.edu/museumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-84190866111177641072009-09-12T08:02:43.924-07:002009-09-12T08:02:43.924-07:00Are you familiar with Chip Conley's book Peak?...Are you familiar with Chip Conley's book Peak? He used Maslow's hierarchy to reinvigorate his business model. He runs a hotel chain in SF and creates hotels that are "identity refreshers" for different target customers. Similar ideas about customer/audience experience, but Falk seems much more person-focused and applies it directly to the arts. Sounds like a good read!Jessicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01040210097585862321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-32052280593966492632009-09-10T22:03:54.189-07:002009-09-10T22:03:54.189-07:00As a grad student in Museum Studies in Japan, I lo...As a grad student in Museum Studies in Japan, I love reading your blog as it gives me a glimpse of the debate and current-ness of many of the topics I'm most interested in. I need this partiularly because many of those subjects (visitor services and museum education especially) are still very new (if not nearly non-existant) here.<br /><br />Thanks!SomedaysSarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07485017469544064676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-63874897711464639442009-09-10T13:05:07.292-07:002009-09-10T13:05:07.292-07:00Great thoughts. Your post made me think how, even ...Great thoughts. Your post made me think how, even in trying to be more customer focused in our work, we're often still too bound up in what our organizations are today. The conversation starts from the question, "What needs do museums serve today?" rather than from the question, "What are the most important needs and interests to the people in our community? And how can we create art-based experiences that best serve those needs and interests?" Without asking these questions we can end up putting tremendous effort and resource into changes that, in the end, don't make our institutions any more important to our communities than they are today (though the current patrons may be better served and more connected).<br /><br />JimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-8356473970214590822009-09-10T07:06:32.643-07:002009-09-10T07:06:32.643-07:00Thank you for your post! I have worked in Visitor ...Thank you for your post! I have worked in Visitor Services for 6 years and the conversations I have with or overhear from our guests are fascinating, especially thinking about them in this way.Melaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17911921063763711789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-19715054185614974332009-09-10T05:35:09.544-07:002009-09-10T05:35:09.544-07:00Thanks for posting this and making me aware of the...Thanks for posting this and making me aware of the book, its now been added to my list of museum texts to get. I think it's really interesting to consider how museums can look beyond their traditional markets to capture all those different visitors needs and experiences. <br /><br /><br />I noticed that James commented on how his workplace rarely gets people after 4th grade. I work at a historic house with a similar problem - most of our visitors are primary school kids or international visitors. our local community doesn't visit because it just isn't what they are interested in and it doesn't connect with any experiences they are after. Because of this we are looking at how we can develop public programs that rely less on the historical stories of the building and more on the spaces within the building and the multiple uses of those spaces. We are looking at cooking and craft workshops, story telling, book readings, music making and a range of other things that might link into those desires and get people into the space without thinking about it as a museum. <br /><br />I'll be very interested in reading this and seeing if we can look at ways to engage with and attract different identities through a range of programs.bronwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14159231463651780635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-88588397255580046482009-09-09T16:44:22.235-07:002009-09-09T16:44:22.235-07:00I'm excited to see you talking about this, Nin...I'm excited to see you talking about this, Nina. I saw John Falk present this book and the five different identities at the AAM conference this spring. Like James, I'm a museum educator and I thought it was a fascinating way to look at visitors and the reasons they come to museums. Falk made the point that it isn't enough to know why these people come to museums. We need to take this knowledge and create museum experiences that cater to each specific group, just like how you mentioned that you would enjoy a rooftop garden or sculpture patio. For instance, provide a highlights tour for experience seekers, a quiet gallery space for rechargers or talking points for facilitators.<br /><br />The difficulty with this is that each identity has such different needs that it is hard to accommodate all of them within one museum. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear the end of Falk's presentation because, as a student volunteer at AAM, I had other duties to attend to. I'd be interested to see what suggestions Falk has for creating meaningful experiences for all the identities.Lizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10881699163890813419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-52385433309395983202009-09-09T14:08:24.144-07:002009-09-09T14:08:24.144-07:00Also, if you are interested in receiving the extra...Also, if you are interested in receiving the extra copy of the book, please make sure that either your comment is linked to your name in a way that I can find you, or send me an email at nina @ museumtwo . comNina Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11723930679606298550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-19479278214344549062009-09-09T14:07:07.496-07:002009-09-09T14:07:07.496-07:00Paul,
I was hoping to secretly do both at the same...Paul,<br />I was hoping to secretly do both at the same time without anyone noticing! More seriously, I don't much care for pondering the essence of climbing. I just like doing it. It's one of those little-talked-about aspects of flow experiences--they feel kind of mindless when you are having them.Nina Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11723930679606298550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-87786743235030869782009-09-09T14:02:16.758-07:002009-09-09T14:02:16.758-07:00Hi Nina,
It's interesting that you use some o...Hi Nina,<br /><br />It's interesting that you use some of your leisure time to write a museum blog rather than a rock-climbing blog.POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.)https://www.blogger.com/profile/05111591384018210698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-56673620547475852402009-09-09T13:23:57.373-07:002009-09-09T13:23:57.373-07:00Your post reminded me of Marilyn Hood's 1983 a...Your post reminded me of Marilyn Hood's 1983 article "Staying Away" from Museum News, where she talks about frequent participants, non-participants and occasional participants. The non's looks for social interaction, active participation, and comfort in leisure-time activities (and tend not to find them at museums). Boy, a lot has changed since 1983! But still, the idea that museums can appeal to new audiences on the basis of what they value in a leisure experience (and this is different for everyone) still resonates. Thanks for inspiring me to think more about leisure values.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-55338588164712513642009-09-09T11:54:46.012-07:002009-09-09T11:54:46.012-07:00This blog entry was really thought-provoking for m...This blog entry was really thought-provoking for me. I was recently invited to join a group at our museum to rethink the visitor experience. My regular responsibilities revolve around taking care of the historical artifacts in our collection, so thinking more about what sort of experiences our visitors might be seeking, and how we can provide them, is something that I haven't really thought about before in a systematic way. I definitely want to check out this book!J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03618265529141775271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-72380546617640398482009-09-09T09:10:14.510-07:002009-09-09T09:10:14.510-07:00As a museum educator, this is really interesting, ...As a museum educator, this is really interesting, especially as we shift our department into a new direction. Obviously, it would be nice to offer a program that meets every need for people of all ages. But how long does it take to accomplish that goal? Years? And if it's not accomplished "correctly," then visitors can see right through it.<br /><br />I work in a place that locals rarely come after their 4th grade spring field trip, but they're more than happy to refer out-of-town visitors here. My leisure identity is to be recharged, but also to have fun doing it in a new setting, experiencing something different along the way. <br /><br />But it's easy to only offer programs that fit your own personal needs.<br /><br />All this is to say that it's an extremely interesting thought, and it is challenging me to think less selfishly about the education programs I create...Jamesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-45174919655798567502009-09-09T09:06:17.291-07:002009-09-09T09:06:17.291-07:00This so resonates with me, Nina. I am so "in...This so resonates with me, Nina. I am so "in" my marketing writer mode during the typical week, but I still take at least an hour every day to go for a bike ride or long walk etc. My leisure identity has to balance out my biz identity.. but I also like for my leisure identity to be the first thing people know about me... Thanks for sharing your take.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04848642059943663620noreply@blogger.com