The Importance of Visitors

Marcie,

I had an experience yesterday that reminded me of the importance of visitors. The museum I am currently working at was closed a year ago and we have no staff, and I was really busy in the lab in the back. The doors were all locked and it should be clear we are not open, but a couple walked around the whole building and made a big effort to wave me down through a window. I went to the door to tell them we were closed, but their story was compelling.

This couple has been on a quest to see all 58 National Parks in the country. In the last two weeks they were crossing off all the Alaskan parks. They have been to 57 parks and next week they will visit park #58. Though we are not in a National Park, the museum was on their list of things to see.

I let them in and let them walk though the galleries. What are the risks? that someone steals something, breaks something, gets hurt. I was thinking today that the real risk is that someone leaves your museum disappointed. Museums exist because people value them and want to see them. If we forget that, our museums will all be closed, just like this one. The biggest risk to museums is that someone thinks you are rude, or too busy, or too pretentious.

No matter what your job title is, or what your job description is, your real job is to make sure visitors enjoy your museum. No matter what it takes. That is the job of everyone at the museum. That is how we will preserve artifacts and tell stories.