ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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I actually have part time staff(college students and high school seniors) who work birthdays on the weekends. Many of them also work in the center during the week as well. We don't really have many issues with our structure and it works out to be a great success. We have the basic 10 kids package which they are required to pay in full prior to the party. For extra kids we charge a flat rate fee of $12.50 per child which takes care of the party activity supplies, cupcake, ice cream, drink, admission to the center and party favor for the extra child.
We don't have trouble with the kids running unsupervised because the parents stay at the party with the children. The party runs 1 1/2 hours and they get all day admission to the center for all the guests. So when they are done with their party, some will leave but others choose to stay with their children and explore the center. We do not build in center exploration time into our parties so when the party is done, the parents can go explore with their children on their own time. The structure of the party follows the same basic lines for each different theme: 30 minutes of hands-on, themed activities lead by the party presenter, 30 minutes for making ice cream, serving cupcakes and lemonade and extra food if they chose to pre-order extra food from our café (we do not allow outside food to be brought into the center), and finally 30 minutes for present opening. Our café prepares the food orders and our visitor services staff comes up to count the number of party participants after the activities. They get the parent to sign off on a sheet that states the number of party guests and they are directed downstairs after the party to close out on their sale and pay for any extra guests at that time. There have only been a few parents that forget to check out in the hustle and bustle and walk out but when we call them the next day they are extremely apologetic and we just get their authorization to charge their credit card over the phone.
As for getting enough supplies, we actually keep a stock of extra supplies so that if a party ends up being huge and the parents don't call to tell us, then we are covered.
I hope some of this information helps.
Jennifer V. Holt
Director of Revenue Programs
Sci-Port: LOUISIANA'S Science Center
[log in to unmask] / 318-424-8694
www.sciport.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Glen Moore
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 9:33 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: birthday parties - policies and procedures
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Allison
After 15 years or trying various b-day party solutions we have recently
decided to no longer host formal b-day parties. Some of the problems
included the lack of information flow between the party parent and the guest
children's parents (as to various conditions) and the overall lack of
supervision of children when they were in exhibit areas. But other problems
included fee models and payment methods.
Yes - there is a huge demand but it is not our core business. If parents
want to bring food, provide the required levels of supervision and use our
tables for an informal party that is fine - they pay normal entry and are
expected to provide the required levels of supervision.
Probably not much help to you...
Glen
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff Rosenblatt" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, October 31, 2008 1:15 AM
Subject: Re: birthday parties - policies and procedures
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Allison,
Currently, we are in the process of contracting out our b-day parties.
We found they were the greatest struggle in all of our programming. Of
course, we constantly get calls for them.
So, we have a 3rd party run the b-days, and we get all science center
ticket sales and 10% of the b-day fee. Don't know if that helps, but
there it is.
--Jeff--
Jeff Rosenblatt
Director of Science City
Union Station
ph: 816-460-2218
email: [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Allison Wieland
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 6:36 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: birthday parties - policies and procedures
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
************************************************************************
*****
We've evaluating our current program, which is supervised by our
volunteer
coordinator. The parties themselves are hosted by our teen volunteers
and
scheduled by our front desk staff. There is interest in simplifying the
method
by which we calculate party cost (currently a head count, as the package
includes up to 10 children) and exploring the best ways to prevent (ok,
minimize :) certain issues without going overboard requiring people to
sign
contracts, pay late fees, etc.
Some of our issues may stem from a lack of a defined procedure or the
shared
responsiblity our parties entail. Do other centers rely on volunteers as
party
hosts? It would be great to see the internal procedures (or perhaps a
outline
from arrival to departure) that others have in place for birthday
programs. Any
other resources out there for implementing a successsful birthday
program
would be greatly appreciated.
Allison Wieland
The Imaginarium
Anchorage, AK
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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
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Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
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