Data Stories: infographics that tell a story
All Data Stories are clickable PDFs for download and/or printing.
2022 Data Stories - Annual Survey of Museum-Goers​
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Connection to Humanity
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Amplification vs Over-Amplification
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Respecting Visitor Values: Audience Perceptions
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Museums and Wellbeing Part 2
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Museums and Wellbeing Part 1
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Climate Change in Museums Part 3
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Climate Change in Museums Part 2
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Climate Change in Museums Part 1
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Museums and the LGBTQ+ Community
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Experience Preferences
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Visitation Gaps
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Visitation Recovery - Pandemic
Click here for an infographic about the 2022 Annual Survey Methodology
2022 Annual Survey Methodology
2021 Data Stories - Annual Survey of Museum-Goers​ 
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Membership Motivations
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Leisure Time Patterns
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Prosocial Attitudes and Inclusion
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Inclusion Spectrum Methodology
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Community Concerns
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Virtual Audiences, part 2
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Virtual Audiences, part 1
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Visitation Patterns - Pandemic
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Methodology - 2021
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Demographics - museum-goers
Museums and Trust 2021

Free download of this graphic research report fielded on behalf of the American Alliance of Museums. 
Teaching Inclusive History: Educator Needs

Explore the needs of educators as they teach the most emotionally difficult content in schools. Free PDF download here.
Audiences and Inclusion:
​A Primer for Cultivating More Inclusive Attitudes Among the Public
10-Step Primer from Audiences and Inclusion - Poster/Printable
*Free Download* from AAM's Website
2021 Data Stories - COVID Audience Research​  (scroll down for Data Stories from 2020)
Masking: May 2021.
Museums and the Pandemic Data Story #16
Spring 2021 Update. Museums and the Pandemic Data Story #15
Vaccinations and Reentry.  Museums and the Pandemic Data Story #14
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Spring Update
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Vaccinations
COVID Winter. Museums and the Pandemic Data Story #13
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COVID Winter
2020 Data Stories - Annual Survey of Museum-Goers​ 
The Purpose of Learning
2020 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers: 
Data Story #6
The Purpose of Learning A 2020 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story Museums are about learning. Indeed, 2/3 of museum-goers explicitly visit museums in order
Purpose of Learning
Museums and Neutrality:
​Taking Positions in a Polarized Society
2020 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers
Data Story #5
Museums and Neutrality: Taking Positions in a Polarized Society A 2020 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story Museums are not neutral. Or are they? Like in many things, our audiences disagree on neutrality: whether museums are neutral or not, or even if neutrality is a desirable goal. We asked how audiences really felt about neutrality. The overall results showed that a majority of museum-goers did think museums can take a position ... though largely with limits. Museums should always be neutral 28% Museums can take a position on issues that most people would agree with 7% Museums can take an evidence-backed, mission-based position 54% Museums can take positions AND should be more activist on social justice issues 7% But within these results lies a rather stark divide. Over half of Traditional audiences thought museums should always be neutral, no matter the issue ... a rate over 5x higher than more Neoteric audiences.1 And 4/5 of Neoteric audiences said a museum can take a position ... vs. only a third of Traditional audiences. To learn more, we asked respondents why they answered as they did. For those who said neutrality, the focus was overwhelmingly on facts and self-determination. Present the facts and let us make up our own mind. - survey respondent Most noticeably, Traditional audiences appeared to want the safety of neutrality in museums ... and not to be challenged: about a third of the
Neutrality
Worldviews, Clusters, and Intuitive Epistemology: An Introduction
2020 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers:
​Data Story #4
Worldviews, Clusters, and Intuitive Epistemology: An Introduction A 2020 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story Everyone is different. We all know that. And that extends to our visitors. Each one comes in with their own idiosyncratic blend of values, attitudes, and beliefs that affect how they engage with the content museums share. So let's step back and see how this affects learning in museums (and elsewhere). Our values, attitudes, and beliefs are influenced by a number of factors, including: • Upbringing • Education • Gender • Religion • Ethnicity • Race • Socio-Economic Status • Social Network These values, attitudes, and beliefs (we'll call them
Worldviews
Curiosity: A Primer
2020 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers:
​Data Story #3
Curiosity: A Primer A 2020 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story     Curiosity. The more we examine curiosity, the more important it appears to be, not only to individuals but to society.   Research1 consistently shows that curious people have improved:   • Practical life outcomes • Self-actualization • Prosocial outcomes   Why? A key reason may be having an open mindset towards new information, other perspectives, being challenged, and even a comfort level with feeling uncomfortable.   So curiosity deserves a closer examination.   In the 2020 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers and Broader Population Sampling, we did just that. Yet there was an issue we immediately had to grapple with: the public (including museum-goers) has a rather different definition of curiosity than scholars.   To the public, the word
Curiosity
Museum-Goers and Accessibility
2020 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers:
​Data Story #2
Title: Museum-Goers and Accessibility A 2020 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story We all want our museums to be inviting places. Places that everyone can find comfortable and easy to visit. That means accessibility is important. When we asked museum-goers what kinds of access and support their families could use at museums, there was one big takeaway: Over half of museum-goers indicated an access need. 53%, to be exact! And their responses represented a variety of needs: Aging populations and their physical, cognitive, and social needs 35% Physical or mobility disabilities 29% Mental illness 17% Learning or cognitive disabilities 16% Deaf or hard of hearing 15% Sensory sensitivities or Autism Spectrum Disorder 15% Blind or low vision 12% Interestingly, age was not a significant factor in the responses. In fact, respondents under 30 and those over 70 averaged the same number of additional support needs: 1.5. The evidence also suggests that respondents thought broadly about the term
Accessibility
Methodology Primer: Bias
2020 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers:
​Data Story #1
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Methodology Primer: Bias
The 250th (Semiquincentennial)

Commissioned by the Commonwealth of Virginia, this research explores patriotism, American identity, and the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. (March 2023 version)

2020 Data Stories - COVID Audience Research​ 

​Communities and our Post-Pandemic Future. ​Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #12
Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #12 Communities and our Post-Pandemic Future This autumn has seen us struggling with a pandemic that is spreading quickly. People are tired, stressed, and nervous. So it seems odd to ask about community gathering places and post-pandemic behaviors. It seems odd because it is odd. Yet if museums are going to serve audiences effectively while also helping their communities rebuild, we need to start planning now to address those needs. ---------------------------- Most of our panelists agreed that community gathering spots (i.e.,
Community & Post-Pandemic Future
Respite and Museums. ​Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #11
Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #11 Respite and Museums As more people struggle to cope emotionally and mentally with the pandemic, places of respite are increasingly important. Traditionally, as a field, we've often talked about our museums as being just those kinds of places ... and indeed, our pandemic panelists have talked specifically about botanical gardens, art museums, and zoos and aquaria serving that role. To learn more, we asked a direct question about respite this fall. Interestingly, we received some pushback. Some felt that since museums are places of curiosity, learning, and ideas, they are not go-to places for respite. I don't view most museums as a place of respite ... I tend to view museums as places of growth and learning ... going through the exhibits sparks curiosity and engagement, which doesn't feel like respite to me. It's certainly not a negative, and I often leave feeling fulfilled, but I wouldn't associate it with respite. - panelist response I do not usually think of museums as a place of respite in the context of needing a mental health break or a getaway because when I go to museums, my brain is still fully engaged - reading the information, considering why some info was presented over other parts that were omitted, considering the angle in which the info was presented ... - panelist response This suggests that, for some, learning and intellectual growth is perceived as mutually exclusive to respite. This idea has come up in previous Annual Survey of Museum-Goer research, indicating our panelists are not outliers. For other panelists, museums were seen as places of respite ... under normal conditions. But they felt that in the age of COVID, their concerns about safety precluded any respite they might gain by visiting a museum now. Given significantly reduced attendance at museums, this is likely a mainstream opinion.1 I don't think I'd feel comfortable or restive in a museum anymore, not while the pandemic is going on. - panelist response I would normally consider the art museum to be a respite from the world ... [but] I don't want to feel stressed worrying someone will invade my 6-foot space to view a painting. - panelist response Virtual museum options for respite received mixed responses from our panelists. Some were skeptical that virtual museum experiences could provide respite, while others were finding just that: At this point, most people are so tired of living life through their screens that it's got to be particularly exceptional to keep them plugged in a moment longer than necessary. - panelist response I am utterly impressed with the creativity, dedication, professionalism, and dynamic energy of these two museums! Being involved with them gives me great joy, relaxation, motivation, and ideas for how I can offer virtual excitement and respite to my own students. They are key to my being able to survive with style, while I continue to maintain quite strict isolation ... - panelist response And then there is inclusion. Does inclusive content make museums more or less of a place of respite? Panelist responses reflected a spectrum of attitudes seen in our deeper research on inclusion in museums. For white people, inclusive content appears to generally make museums less of a place of escape ... and individual values, attitudes, and beliefs affect whether that is a net positive or negative. For those with more inclusive Neoteric2 perspectives, the growth and challenge that inclusive content brings to white people precludes respite ... but there is general consensus that inclusion is the priority. I think there's a privilege in having an escape from today's challenges, but that's what respite feels like for me these days. Not having to hear about politics or COVID allows my mind to take a break so I can feel at peace before having to return to reality ... Museums should be an inclusive place, and diverse perspectives are a key piece of that. To do that means escapism can't also be a focus. Those feel mutually exclusive to me. Maybe they're not, but I feel that growth and discomfort go hand in hand, and respite has to be separate. - panelist response For anti-inclusive white people, inclusive content appears to represent the opposite of respite. I personally am completely fed up with the postmodernist deconstructionist blaming, fault-finding, name-calling, and general vilification and demonization of western culture generally and American history in particular ... To put it differently, museums should indeed be places of respite where we can get aware from the atomized, tribalistic, political
Respite and Museums
Autumn Update. Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #10
Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #10 Autumn Update It's fall, and the change in seasons is looming for many museum-goers. Seven months into this pandemic, with no immediate end in sight, has many museum-goers feeling we are on a never-ending rollercoaster of challenges and stressors. We reel from crisis to catastrophe day-to-day. - panelist response Right now, feeding my soul and heart are secondary. How can I stay alive? How can I make decisions to keep me and my family safe? - panelist response They are looking ahead towards colder weather ... with dread. I keep telling myself that not being able to go out this winter won't be too bad ... but this feels a little like whistling in the dark. The reality is that we don't know what's going to happen, so we have to hope for the best and plan for the worst, I guess. - panelist response I am concerned that in the coming months, virtual events will once again become the only options as the weather gets colder and restrictions increase. Mental health is definitely becoming a bigger problem as I am terrified of having to re-enter the type of experience we had in March, April, and May. - panelist response Though some are planning ahead with ways to cope: Winter is tough on me, but I've prepared myself that I'll just have to grin & bear it this time! Going to ramp up the hygge! - panelist response I'm actively trying to channel my Norwegian relatives and make my home very cozy for winter. I'm putting things like scented candles and cozy blankets around the house. We're also decorating for specific holidays (we didn't do this much before) and I'm putting things like my knitting, puzzles, and coloring books out to remind myself to do that instead of doom-scrolling social media. - 30s white female But overall, the emotional state of most museum-goers is low, with concerns mounting around: • Virus fatigue ○ My biggest worry for me (and others) is a fear of complacency and compliance fatigue. - panelist response • Education ○ As an educator, I can tell you with certainty that this
Autumn Update
Relevancy in a Tumultuous 2020. Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #9
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Relevancy
Virtual Content. Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #8
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Virtual Content
Summer Update. Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #7
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Summer Update
Broader Population Concerns for Museums. Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #6
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Broader Population Concerns for Museums
Hope and Healing. Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #5
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Hope and Healing
Museums Are Struggling Financially. Do People Know? Will They Support Us? Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #4
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Financial Support of Museums
When Will Audiences Be Ready to Return to Museums? And What Will Help Them Feel Safe and Comfortable? Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #3
Do Audiences Want Virtual Content from Museums? Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #2
How Are Museum-Goers Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic? Museums and the Pandemic: Data Story #1
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Feeling Safe and Comfortable at Museums
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Do museum-goers want virtual content from museums during the pandemic?
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How are museum-goers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic?
2019 Data Stories
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Curiosity, Empathy, and Social Justice: A Long-Form Data Story
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Young Adult Museum-Goers: A 2019 Update
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Museum-Going Parents: A 2019 Data Story Update - Part 1
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Museum-Going Parents: A 2019 Data Story Update - Part 2
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The Perceived Value of Informal Learning
2018 Data Stories
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The Impact of Museums: Knowledge
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The Impact of Museums: Creativity
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The Impact of Museums: Curiosity
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Museum Visitation Rates: A Myth-Busting Data Story
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The Impact of Museums: Empathy
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Families, Their Needs, and Museums
2017 Data Stories
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Young Adult Museum-Goers
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Museum-Going Parents
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Older Adult Museum-Goers