More than a leisure destination, your museum, zoo, or aquarium combines entertainment with enlightenment. Our attractions invite a vast diversity of people to embark on fascinating journeys of discovery, fostering a deep appreciation for the natural world, exploring the depths of history, and expanding their understanding of science and culture. I say this not to tell you what you already know but to invite you to think about how you can use your collections/animals to benefit your organisation and empower your team to open access to your collections as effectively as possible.
Look beyond the obvious.
I started in the attractions world as a volunteer at a local museum. Locked in the basement of this Victorian mansion/museum was a vast array of weird and wonderful artefacts. We decided to use some of the more indestructible items in our children’s workshops. This was at a time when ‘theatre in education’ was in its infancy and the idea of children playing, laughing and learning in the museum through exploring, handling and bringing to life artefacts of the past gave the curator a few sleepless nights. However, with creative consent from the team we quickly developed an award winning self-sufficient education department which eventually brought in enough revenue to sustain a large education team, open access to over 30,000 children a year (in interactive workshops) maintain the conservation of the collections and gave me a paid job.
What your collections can do for you.
Organisations need money to keep providing information, protect endangered animals, be centres of excellence, and promote their cause. There are many ways to achieve this, one of which is to tell your stories in the most engaging way possible. Strategically inform your visitors at every aspect of their experience to engage them and provide vital support. Through coordinated engagement during their journey in your organisation, you can raise substantial awareness of what you are trying to achieve and how they contribute to your goals.
Don’t leave yourself stranded on the beach.
An example of successfully harnessing the educational stories of a collection came about when I had the pleasure of running a culture-building program at Virginia Beach Aquarium in the USA. During the workshops with managers, directors, conservationists, and commercial team members, we discovered that the conservation department ran an amazing ‘stranding relief program’, rescuing hundreds of stranded cetaceans and turtles along the Virginia coastline. We realized that these stories were not being given the platform they deserved. Thus, during training, we explored and discovered ways to engage the public with these tales of active conservation. Once empowered with the confidence, permission, and skills to strategically engage visitors with these stories across all departments (education and commercial), the team’s efforts were successful. Visitors appreciated the significance of the aquarium’s work, and donations and support soared.
Platforms for Advocacy and Action
In a world where knowledge and understanding are the keys to unlocking a brighter future, museums, zoos, and aquariums stand as beacons of enlightenment, guiding us on a journey of discovery, wonder and sustainability. Thus, I encourage you to view your collections, animals and exhibits as stories waiting to be told and catalysts for fresh, new, exciting, and inspirational engagements. If you can arm your team with the permission, confidence and artistic license to create these moments, then you will go from strength to strength. Remember, the look of fear on my curator’s face when I purloined my first handling object soon turned to a look of trust for which we, the team, the visitors and the collections, were forever grateful.