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Anne,

Great feedback from the list as well as yet more good questions for all of us to ponder.  I have seen several museums now transition from unstructured (run and scream) field trips to well structured visits.  Generally the later will focus on one exhibit area and the teachers will be provided with material beforehand.  Classes may be broken up into smaller (10-15) groups and then lead through an activity or exercise by museum staff  or docent.  In order not to over crowd exhibits the groups may be directed to one area for a set amount of time and then move on or switch out with another.  At the Staten Island CM the floor staff used radios to communicate as they moved about.  We often had a class going up one set of stairs while another went down the other. The staff became pretty good at this considering there might be 4-5 classes in the museum at one time. 

With as many as 1,500 field-trippers at a given time I would suggest having it all mapped out before hand. Each group leader should have assigned spaces for their group and a time schedule.  But you may also need to consider limiting groups to just one or two galleries per visit.  If the groups are expecting to see "everything" it can only be hectic and in the end not very satisfying.  

Another thing that seams to work well is having the visitors work in pairs or small teams so that you have fewer of them wandering off.  Many schools use the buddy system as a norm.  The logistical aspect is either getting the teacher/chaperones to have this organized ahead of time or making sure there is an orientation time at the beginning to set that in place.

Staff, docents, volunteers need to have some training or guidelines for how they deal with groups.  handling a gaggle of excited 5 year olds is not easy.  It was not common to hear of a problem that could have been addressed quickly if the staff person had felt empowered to act.  I've seen younger staff members become intimidated by parents and teachers and then lose control of the group.   This is where the education and visitor services departments can really compliment each other and share resources.

We all know the need to tie the museum experience to curriculum that many schools face.  You can use that to your advantage by creating activities that match the grade level and subject.  The teachers will be happy because they see how it fits in and will be more comfortable. The kids may actually go back with a valuable (from the school's viewpoint) experience.

As an exhibit designer it was always a goal to make sure there were enough activity points to support a school group in every gallery.  That doesn't mean there has to be 30 distinct things to do, just that 30 visitors can stay occupied for 20-30 minutes if not longer as they move between components.   Of course the layout of galleries is also a factor.  Groups in huge open plan spaces can be harder to manage than ones in individual galleries.  You need some way to delineate spaces so that the groups understand where they are supposed to be. Signage, lighting, flooring can provide the cues.  

Good luck and hope you have seen some useful ideas here.

Erich Rose

Erich Rose Design
807 The Living End
Austin, TX 78746
512-626-9930; [log in to unmask]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/erichrose/



On Nov 4, 2010, at 1:57 PM, Anne Herndon wrote:
> Good afternoon, all.   
> 
> We are in the process of looking at ways to enrich the exhibit field trip experiences of the teachers and students who come on a field trip, particularly on a heavy field trip day-which for us can be about 1,500 in the exhibit galleries.
> 
> I was wondering if you all could share some of the techniques and tips you use to help teachers and chaperones use your exhibit galleries effectively.  The tips could be operational in nature (how to get groups to not all visit the same gallery at the same time) or educational in nature (how do you help groups go deeper into the educational experiences of the exhibit and not just "window-shop" from component to component).
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Anne
> 
> 
> Anne Herndon
> Director, School and Group Programs
> Fort Worth Museum of Science and History 1600 Gendy Street Fort Worth, Texas  76107
> 817-255-9521
> [log in to unmask]
> 

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