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Transforming theNatural History Museum of
Los Angeles County from the Inside-out
Karen Wise, Vice President, Education and Exhibits
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The Dilemma for Natural History Museums
• Beloved but stereotyped • Valued as a public good but not as a
place to visit regularly • Name recognition but no program
recognition or awareness
The paradox: wanting new stuff without loss of treasured memories
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The Dilemma for Natural History Museums
• NHMs have special internal challenges because our core is conservative by its very nature
• NHMs require top notch functions with divergent professional canons and cultures
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Elements in the NHMLAC Transformation
• Mission statement & activation• Branding – holistic approach• Capital Project & impacts • Organizational change, budgeting,
metrics • Visitor Studies and Market Research• Everything else
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Mission of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
To inspire wonder, discovery and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds
Motto that guides us: where our visitor experience meets our Research and Collections
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Branding research and implementation: “You’ve made it better without changing it”
The visual transformation makes it look easy…
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Success: “You’ve made it better without changing it”
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The Capital Project major activities
8
• Seismic retrofit & renovation, 1913 building & unit 1 of 1920s bldg
• Age of Mammals: opened July 11
• Rotunda: opened July 11, “What on Earth” & “Life through Time”
• Car Park: opens Spring or Summer 2011
• Dinosaur Mysteries: opens Summer 2011
• North Campus: opens by Summer 2012
• Nature Lab: opens by Summer 2012
• Under the Sun: opens late 2012
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9
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Old Cenozoic Fossil Hall
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New Age of Mammals
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Old Dinosaur (Mesozoic) Hall
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Dinosaur Mysteries – Summer 2011
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3.5 acres
*
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*
Old Museum Grounds showing footprint of future North Campus
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Strategic planning/Organizational Change
• Money: budgeting, tracking, constant corrections
• Collaboration: easy to say, hard to institutionalize
• Initiatives: Setting big goals that actually mean something; objectives that are reachable but stretch us
• The right metrics
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Visitor Studies & Marketing Research
• For us, the most specific and practical information has been the most useful in helping us transform our relationship with our visitor
• Staff members from all professions respect relevant, well presented data and look for ways to act on it
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Category Sum ‘09 Excellent
Rating (9 or 10)
Sum ‘10Excellent
Rating (9 or 10)
Variance 2009 Benchmark
Average
Overall Satisfaction
47% 72% +25 69%
Admission Value
48% 75% +27 63%
Entertainment Experience
47% 67% +20 62%
Educational Experience
66% 78% +12 69%
Employee Courtesy
53% 88% +35 81%
Cleanliness 51% 84% +33 82%
Crowd Control 63% 72% +9 74%
Inconvenience 8% 12% +4 13%
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Attendance – FY10 v. FY11
21
+ 50.4%
44,851 67,434 46,094
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“Everything Else” • NHM TENTATIVE SCHEDULE as of Thursday, June 10, 2010 NOT CONFIRMED, FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY • • TBD before July 11, 2010 (?): • Insect Zoo moved to main floor, more live animals into DC• South Entrance project complete• Way finding to 1913 building (any other way finding?) complete• • July 11, 2010: AOM & ROT open (including ROT store) • • September 2010:• Temporary café closes (?)• DC closes (???)• Begin testing in ‘demo center’ • • December 2010: full opening of ‘demo center’ (to be renamed)• • January 2011: Car Park opens• • Spring 2011: New café opens; rollout of new ticketing system• • TBD, by summer 2011: Dino Lab renamed/New graphics, possibly other changes• • July 2011: • Dino Mysteries opens*• North entrance, bridge open, outdoor ticketing in entry plaza begins• • Fall 2011: PST participation TBD• • TBD: • Fin whale closes/de-installed for UTS installation; insecct zoo closes • Lando Hall closes? Changes to open storage/public lab? School visits?• • Spring 2012: NC fully open; NL open• • December 2012: UTS open• • 2013: Centennial year. Exhibits throughout museum? (ROT? Temp gallery? Small spaces?)• • • QUESTIONS•
- Staging options for NC (coordination of DM load-in during NC installation)• - way finding for North Campus• - staging space for UTS (add Garland Hall???)
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Challenges
• Resources– Staff Capacity – Funds
• Institutionalizing changes and maintaining focus
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“Opportunities” remain
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But we’re on the move…