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The thread on wait time for exhibits is fascinating.  I agree with several
commentators that the nature of a science center experience is significantly
different from a theme park, so that some of the strategies which work for
Disney may not be good for us.  I've written about the need to differentiate
ourselves from "edutainments," and over the years have become even more
convinced of that need.  But I do have one mixed-mission venue to cite which
had enough examples to test any particular theory of acceptable wait time:
the
Millennium Dome in London in 2000.

Despite the fact that the Dome was regarded as an economic failure, it in
fact contained many splendid examples of science center exhibitry on a grand
scale, as well as pure entertainments, including a spectacular
acrobatic/musical circus.  It drew tens of thousands of people of all ages
every day (just not as many tens of thousands as predicted or required to
break even).  There were long lines at many exhibits, and I looked for
patterns as to which experiences handled the lines best.  

Here's the best example:  Nancy Burson's "Race Machine" exhibit.  The
exhibit itself is small, a computer screen, track ball, and camera.  For
those who haven't seen it, you take a video snapshot of yourself, mark eyes,
nose, mouth, and chin, and then get to transform your image into a different
race--Caucasian, Asian, African, etc.  Lines to use the Race Machine were up
to an hour long--so this does make a counter example to Jeff's reasonable
observation that people will usually wait longer for a big exhibit than a
small one.  

There were four or so of the race machines, following the observation of
Peter and others that multiple copies are one way to reduce wait time.
There were two other features that helped people stay happy despite the
wait:  monitors along the way so that you could watch other people
transforming themselves, which kept you entranced but also taught you how to
operate the exhibit and made you want the experience yourself even more; and
signs saying "20 minutes," "10 minutes," etc., along the line, so you knew
how long you had to wait.  These seemed fairly accurate.  I'm sure the
multiple exhibit units helped here, since some people stayed for a long
time,
especially if they were in family groups, where everyone wanted to comment
on everyone else's transformations.  Multiple stations smoothed out the
average holding times.  This exhibition has strong affective and cognitive
impacts, and we got one for the New York Hall of Science a few years latter.

There were equally long lines for the least interesting exhibition (IMHO), a
multi-story net-mesh cage in which you got to fire foam balls at everyone
else.  What kept people going was that all the time you would watch other
people firing and getting hit, so again you learned how it worked and
planned your own strategy, anticipating your own victories.

The longest lines were for walk-in, gigantic human bodies (one male, one
female).  But I left before I got in, and so did a number of people in the
line.  In this case, there were no signs indicating wait time, no way to see
what was happening inside, no means of learning more about the experience
while you were waiting.

My conclusion was that there was little correlation between the nature of
the exhibit experience and the length of lines visitors will endure, but
there are strategies like multiple copies, wait-time indicators, and
opportunities to learn about the experience you are going to have, all of
which help improve visitor satisfaction with the experience, regardless of
venue.

Alan
******************************
Alan J. Friedman, Director and CEO
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111th Street
Queens, NY 11368 USA
Phone +1 718 699-0005 ext. 316
Fax +1 718 760-5932
Mobile +1 917 882-6671
Email [log in to unmask]  

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