The Value of Museums: Initial Findings, part 1

• "The Museum of Natural History in Milwaukee, WI.  I was 12 years old and felt so alive and happy to see the 'real' things I'd been reading about and studying (objects from Egypt come to mind), that I KNEW I was a scholar and a traveler even though I was from a poor family.  I promised myself then and there that I'd get to Egypt and to England to see the Rosetta Stone.  I've been to both places numerous times, and of course, many others as well.  That visit as a 12-year-old made me see much more was possible for me in my life than staying in WI and being a homemaker (this was my destiny in my family).  From that day on I was college-bound so I could expand my views of the world.  I went on to earn two master's degrees … This is why I know museums are a NECESSITY for humanity." - survey respondent, 2017 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers

Impact. We all hope that museums have impact. We think they do. After all, they did for us.

But what about everyone else? How do we measure our impact? How do we do so in ways that make sense? Stand up to scrutiny? Especially since we don't know who has visited what museum, visitation can be sporadic, and so on.

As a field, I feel like we have been wringing our hands, and talking in circles, about this forever.

So I asked. In the 2017 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, I simply asked respondents to reflect upon the role of museums in their lives, and share if those visits had any impact on them … or not.

And they shared. My goodness, did they share. The responses were amazing … and anything but simple.

• " … it is at the intersection of museums and the public that all the 'isms can stop - it is in museums that we are inspired, reflective, and most deeply thoughtful about the human condition of which we are a part and in which we play a unique role. Museums are a mirror of who we are and who we can be, constructively and destructively. They humble us."

But before we dig into them, I do have to share a major caveat: these are regular museum-goers. Of course they are going to be more likely to articulate, and share, positive thoughts on impact than a casual museum-goer, or a non-visitor. These findings should not be taken as universal perceptions, but instead initial themes that we should then figure out ways to test more broadly (and strive to make more common).

Additionally, as you'll see in my next research release, being a regular museum-goer doesn't mean one actually has a meaningful relationship with museums … or a relationship that couldn't be easily replaced by something else. Indeed, one's motivation to learn, whether intrinsic or extrinsic, seems to matter. A lot.

Let's look at the overall results first, however. Responses fell into three broad categories (which add up to more than 100%, since 22% of responses fell into both of the first two categories; 10% of responses fell into none of these categories):

• The societal benefits of museums: 49% of respondents. Generally, the deepest responses. Types of responses include:
  • Having horizons or perspectives broadened, a mind expanded. (May seem like a personal benefit, but as it affects how an individual interacts with others, that means there are societal benefit as well.)
  • Having a greater awareness of others, more understanding, a sense of empathy, in ways that have changed them, or their thinking.
  • Development of sense of place, that museums contribute to what makes a place unique, and tells us what a community values.
  • Museums are a connective force, connecting us to place, history, and people.
  • An explicit assertion that communities and/or society needs museums.
  • Examples:
    • "Museums are the glue that holds together families, culture, and communities."
    • "They have inspired me to think about people - society - and man's roles, responsibilities, and opportunities in this world  Also, going to museums has broadened my perspective and introduced me to things I would never have seen - which leads me to grow as a person and connect to other people as a human being."
    • "Ideally, museums take you out of yourself and into a form of communion with other minds, other cultures, other times. In some ways the 'learning' that goes with this is almost beside the point. Empathy is a great gift."

 

• The personal benefits of museums: 47% of respondents. Types of responses suggest that museums:
  • Are important for (their) children/help them raise their children (largely because of education);
  • Have helped develop a specific interest;
  • Spark curiosity and/or a love of learning;
  • Enrich/stimulate/improve quality of life;
  • Are places that inspire, provide a sense of wonder, cultivate creativity;
  • Make them "better," improve personal development, make them well-rounded;
  • Are necessary for mental health, respite, or for their souls.
  • Examples:
    • "As a homeschooling mom, all types of museums are critical in teaching our children."
    • "Yes, I would say that museums have impacted my development as a person.   Museums have sparked many interests and possibilities that I didn't realize …"
    • "hugely important... inspiration for everything in life... thinking in color"

 

• Comments that were more statements about museums (and provided no commentary on benefits of these things, so did not fall into the above categories): 16% of respondents. Types of responses include:
  • Learning. Or, at least, those who said learning and did not also say why the learning mattered;
  • Unique experiences; that museums do something no one else does;
  • That the respondent had visited since childhood … but no indication of why they mattered except as places of learning.
  • Examples:
    • "To learn."
    • "A place to learn, especially about the past.  And, to help dive into topics that school does not go into great detail about."
    • "My mom always took us to museums to learn about arts and history and science."

But this is just the superficial analysis (though I shudder to say that, because hand-coding thousands of these comments was hard, painstaking, work taking a great deal of discernment). Turns out, how different segments of museum-goers responded mattered quite a bit. Things get interesting, and complicated, when we look at the data through different lenses.

In my next research release, I'll explore differences in responses based on intrinsic or extrinsic motivations around learning. You'll also see me come back to these responses in the coming weeks, when I examine three different segments of museum-goers in more detail (and how their responses differ).




A note about fielding research. I hold dear the idea that research for the field, about the field, should be shared with the field. But that only works when museums work together to make it possible. Since individual museums are needed to field this work, the survey also benefits participating museums on an individual level by providing benchmark data on visitation rates, motivations, attitudes and preferences, and demographic questions … all of which can then be tracked over time in the future. Participating museums are also allowed to add 1 - 2 custom questions specific to their needs. 

Which means if you value this research,  want more of it in the coming years, and want to track your own museum's progress over time, please support this work by enrolling your museum in the 2018 Annual Survey of Museum Goers. The fee for 2018 is only $1,000 per museum. 

The questions for this survey have been inspired by ongoing conversations within the museum field (who does/does not go to museums, why they do/do not visit, and what that means for communities) and ongoing research in the fields of education and psychology around lifelong learning and intrinsic motivation.