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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Neil,

After doing several wayfinding studies and lobby studies at a museum where I 
worked AND reading comment cards, I think the idea of a school entrance is 
an excellent one. The best one I have seen was at the Ontario Science Centre 
in Toronto, Ontario. It was on a separate level of the museum and had 
several of the design features mentioned below.

School visitors and casual visitors have different arrival and orientation 
pattens, and separate entrances make it easier for teachers, students, and 
other visitors. School visitors and casual visitors sometimes conflict, 
especially if you have parents with small children (stroller moms) that 
school children run over or senior/adult visitors. These are the two 
visiting groups most likely to be at a science museum during school hours. 
Finding ways to keep these groups visiting happily at the same time should 
be good for the learning experience, revenue, and attendance.

A separate entrance could, ideally, keep school buses from clogging your 
main entrance, and provide for safety as the larger numbers of school 
visitors enter into the building.  It could also facilitate some bus parking 
that might make your visitor services people happy.

A separate entrance could also reduce confusion in your ticketing area as 
school children wait for teachers and chaperones to pick up tickets or 
materials for their visit. This is a frequent issue I have observed.

The lobby area near a school entrance needs to be organized to allow 
teachers and chaperones to "line up and count" the members of their group 
after they move some distance from the door. At common entrances, I have 
often seen casual visitor clogged up and not able to enter as school groups 
line up and count and get final instructions. The sound level generated by 
several school groups, while understandable, is often disturbing to other 
visitors. A lobby area near a school only entrance also gives school 
children a "meet back" place away from casual visitors--reducing waiting 
groups (and noise and confusion) in your main lobby area.

In the building, a school entrance can be accompanied by a coat check (for 
colder climates), and even a bag lunch check. If school groups can easily 
stay over the lunch period, and reduce some cost, they may stay longer and 
be able to do more things. While lunch revenue may be an issue if you have a 
cafe, there might be a way to arrange a practical system of delivering 
school lunches to a location near to this entrance, thereby, relieving 
congestion from from you cafe areas.  Ideally, there might even be some 
program rooms that could serve as school lunch rooms off this entrance with 
vending machines and places to eat bag lunches.

Remember the bathrooms if you decide to go with a school entrance--everyone 
will need to use them before heading back to school. This could also 
separate the stroller-parents and adult bathroom use from school 
children--its very hard for a parent to help a small child with 10 year olds 
running around.

Finally, if staffing a second entrance is an issue, then it might only be 
"open" during the heavy field trip months, thereby reducing that cost, but 
allowing you to staff up and really offer all your visitors a good 
experience. But, a separate entrance might also allow specialized greetings 
and orientations that would benefit the school groups.

Hope that helps!  If others on the list have logistics issues on the 
separate entrances that would probably be helpful too.

Carey Tisdal
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Neville Gardner" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2005 3:42 PM
Subject: museum entrances


> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related 
> institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> We have begun a redevelopment project that includes the reconfiguration of
> our current entrance/reception. A question has been asked about the
> possibility of having a separate entrance for school groups, to help 
> relieve
> congestion and noise at reception. I would be grateful for any comments or
> experiences anyone has on the advisability or otherwise of separate
> entrances for school groups. Thanks.
>
> Neville Gardner
> Head of Education
> Te Manawa
> Museum | Gallery | Science Centre
> LIFE | ART | MIND
> 396 Main Street
> Private Bag 11055
> Palmerston North
> New Zealand
> T 64 6 355 5000
> D 64 6 351 4496
> F 64 6 358 3552
> E [log in to unmask]
> W <http://www.temanawa.co.nz/>
>
>
>
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