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Last month I was in Berkeley for a few days and took BART to spend a
Saturday at the new Exploratorium.  I spent most of my time watching other
visitors, the result of a lifetime working in the science center field.
Conclusion:  there were thousands of people, almost all families with a
wide range of ages, having a great time.  I chatted with two families from
the East Bay who were making their first visit to the new location, and
loving it, courtesy of deep discounted Groupon admissions.

It is still the Exploratorium which inspired so many of us for decades,
only now in different location. In its new home the Exploratorium has all
of its old strengths, and most of the old issues connected with its unique
style and attitudes.  Sure, I enjoyed strolling around the grounds of the
Palace, but the Embarcadero, tourists and all, is fun too.  The breeze off
the bay and the sailboats are wonderful, and the Exploratorium's Bay
Observatory Gallery is one of the most delightful places to be in San
Francisco.

Many museums and science centers built or expanded in the past 30 years
have
overprotected revenue, and had to take cuts a few months to a couple of
years after opening.  Even the best experts at predicting such things have
a tough time.  UNDERestimating what visitorship will be after opening can
cause even longer-lasting headaches than overestimating.

The emails in SFGate seem very familiar.  People not in our profession
often
have no idea how nonprofits are funded, what their costs are, and
how difficult the calculations are to find a happy compromise among all
the choices we must make.  One would like to think that the public gives
us the benefit of the doubt, and people don't assume the worst, and that
they withhold judgment until they learn more about the trade-offs.  Alas,
among the folks who post comments to news stories, these are not qualities
in good supply.  Perhaps if the Next Generation Science Standards are
adopted and more people understand what engineering "trade-offs" are all
about, we'd have a more tolerant world.

As it is, best wishes to our friends at the Exploratorium as they make the
adjustments needed, and as they continue to inspire us.

Alan

________________________________________
Alan J. Friedman, Ph.D.
Consultant for Museum Development and Science Communication
29 West 10th Street
New York, New York 10011 USA
T  +1 917 882-6671
E   [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
W www.FriedmanConsults.com <http://www.friedmanconsults.com/>
 
a member of The Museum Group
www.museumgroup.com <http://www.museumgroup.com/>






On 8/17/13 12:00 AM, "ISEN-ASTC-L automatic digest system"
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Exploratorium cuts 18% of staff as attendance lags - SFGate

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