Children are the impetus for growth in two museum sectors. Science museums are expanding and building new science centers catering to families with kids, while real estate developers are using children’s museums as anchors for downtown revitalization projects.
According to the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) in Washington, four out of five science museums in America either are expanding existing science centers or building new ones. The United States has at least 348 such facilities and the number of related museum-sponsored programs for teachers and students is growing as well.
Recent ASTC survey results indicate museums spent $345 million over a two-year period for science center capital improvements. “It’s a major growth area for museums,” says ASTC spokeswoman Ellen Griffee.
Museum-sponsored science centers attract more than 150 million visitors annually. The trend is to create more hands-on exhibits to captivate the natural curiosity of children, with displays designed for interaction and for children to touch.
“It’s not about keeping your hands in your pockets and loading up your eyeballs anymore,” says Griffee. “Science museums are very active with developing experiential exhibits. Even the natural history museums are moving in this direction.”
Children’s museums are themselves another major growth sector. Nationwide there are more than 300 children’s museums and 71% are located in urban areas. Another 100 or so children’s museums are in the planning stages, which is four times the number of these museums that existed 25 years ago, according to the Association of Youth Museums.
Cities such as Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh have made children’s museums an integral part of redevelopment projects to make downtown a family destination for recreation. It’s estimated that children’s museums will attract 40 million visitors this year.
– Museums collectively spend more than $4 billion annually on equipment and supplies for storage and conservation, computers, exhibit cases, museum store merchandise, security systems, video and film products, ticketing and admission systems.
– Volunteers are critical to museums. The ratio of volunteers to paid staff is roughly 2.5 to 1. One out of every 480 adult Americans does volunteer work at a museum.
– About 60% of museums operate as nonprofit institutions. Funding for museums is derived from $14 billion in endowments, government monies and member donors.
– On average, paid admissions contribute 20% of the dollars to total museum budgets. Admission fees are charged by 46% of museums, but 58% of those that do charge also designate some days as free.
– Art and science museums are the most popular. Museums collectively receive 2.3 million daily visitors, or a total of 865 million visits annually. Overall attendance has risen at least 50% in 10 years.
– One-third of America’s 300 children’s museums have opened since 1990. They attract about 22 million people a year. The oldest one, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, opened in 1899.
– Typically, museums view education as their most important role. Science museums sponsor classes and workshops for professional development that are attended by 300,000 teachers each year.
Sources: American Association of Museums, Association for Youth Museums, Association of Science-Technology Centers
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