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 

***********************************************************************
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.

The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft.
To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.

To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]

***********************************************************************
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.

The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.

To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]