We need to generate words that describe the "thing" we are creating.
1. What are words that exemplify the role of the ambassador (more the merrier)?
This should be shown the client.
2. What are words that describe the ambassador role's methods used to perform the role (more the merrier)?
This should be shown the client.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Role of ambassador
What kind of skills does an ambassador need?
From Stephen's email:
Objective of the Ambassador Program
The objective of the Ambassador Program at Thanksgiving Point is to empower staff and volunteers to be able to enhance visitors’ experiences through meaningful interaction.
Roles of an Ambassador
Be friendly and outgoing Be somewhat knowledgeable about the subject matter in a particular venue (Gardens, Museum, Farm Country, etc.) Be aware of upcoming events that may be of interest to the visitors Be an advocate for both the visitors and Thanksgiving Point Converse with visitors Become a mentor/coach to other ambassadors-in-training
From Stephen's email:
Objective of the Ambassador Program
The objective of the Ambassador Program at Thanksgiving Point is to empower staff and volunteers to be able to enhance visitors’ experiences through meaningful interaction.
Roles of an Ambassador
[end of email text]
Friday, February 18, 2011
Drive for consensus
Barbara Rogof "Apprenticeship in thinking" - parent-child playful interaction.
The exercise in documenting everyone's opinions highlights consensus and differences. The document is the start of creating a document for the client to review and give a thumbs up or down on the direction of the project.
We are designing a product, brand, interface, multi-use system and maybe a project.
The exercise in documenting everyone's opinions highlights consensus and differences. The document is the start of creating a document for the client to review and give a thumbs up or down on the direction of the project.
We are designing a product, brand, interface, multi-use system and maybe a project.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
My answers on the team spreasheet
Who is the client?
Blake
What does the client most want from IP&T graduate students?
Blake has two goals: 1) Connect the guests' experience across the entire property and 2) Facilitate parent-child and family interaction during their visit.
What is our group's expertise?
Instructional Psychology and Technology
Does what the client most wants align with our expertise?
Goal #1 - Sort of. Goal #2 - Yes.
Can we deliver what the client most wants from us?
Maybe.
What should we deliver specifically?
Staff training program that meets Blake's two goals by 1) identifying the connections within the property areas, 2) designing training to help staff understand and properly/effectively communicate these connections, 3) identifying the potential opportunities for parent-child and family interaction within the property areas, and 4) designing training to help staff un-intrusively facilitate these interactions.
Blake
What does the client most want from IP&T graduate students?
Blake has two goals: 1) Connect the guests' experience across the entire property and 2) Facilitate parent-child and family interaction during their visit.
What is our group's expertise?
Instructional Psychology and Technology
Does what the client most wants align with our expertise?
Goal #1 - Sort of. Goal #2 - Yes.
Can we deliver what the client most wants from us?
Maybe.
What should we deliver specifically?
Staff training program that meets Blake's two goals by 1) identifying the connections within the property areas, 2) designing training to help staff understand and properly/effectively communicate these connections, 3) identifying the potential opportunities for parent-child and family interaction within the property areas, and 4) designing training to help staff un-intrusively facilitate these interactions.
Personal reflection
What is the one sentence that defines the client need?
Personal thought: One way to create a branded experience is to manage expectations no matter where you are in the property. What is the guest expectations that should be implemented across all areas?
Personal thought: One way to create a branded experience is to manage expectations no matter where you are in the property. What is the guest expectations that should be implemented across all areas?
Monday, February 14, 2011
Interviews summary
Similarities:
Volunteers with passion for Thanksgiving Point (Tracy, Val, Blake)
Guest experience is top priority (Tracy, Val, Blake, Gary)
Volunteer training is needed for greater roles (Val, Gary, Blake)
Families are target guests (Tracy, Blake)
Family-interaction (parent-child, grandparent-child) is a goal (Tracy, Blake)
Largest category of guests is younger mothers with children/strollers (Tracy, Gary, Val)
Discovery learning and fun are high priorities for properties (Tracy, Gary)
Membership pass is selling goal. (Tracy, Gary, Blake)
Differences:
Thanksgiving Point needs to be more like one experience/property instead of three (Blake) vs. There are too many directors to coordinate activities between areas and there is an issue of revenue sharing (Gary) Gary was not sure it was a good idea to try and be one property.
Role of volunteer should be expanded to include docent-type responsibilities (Blake, Val) vs. He can't rely on volunteers to play a central role, only to play background roles, although he wants to. (Gary). Reliability is a central concern in using volunteers.
Volunteers with passion for Thanksgiving Point (Tracy, Val, Blake)
Guest experience is top priority (Tracy, Val, Blake, Gary)
Volunteer training is needed for greater roles (Val, Gary, Blake)
Families are target guests (Tracy, Blake)
Family-interaction (parent-child, grandparent-child) is a goal (Tracy, Blake)
Largest category of guests is younger mothers with children/strollers (Tracy, Gary, Val)
Discovery learning and fun are high priorities for properties (Tracy, Gary)
Membership pass is selling goal. (Tracy, Gary, Blake)
Differences:
Thanksgiving Point needs to be more like one experience/property instead of three (Blake) vs. There are too many directors to coordinate activities between areas and there is an issue of revenue sharing (Gary) Gary was not sure it was a good idea to try and be one property.
Role of volunteer should be expanded to include docent-type responsibilities (Blake, Val) vs. He can't rely on volunteers to play a central role, only to play background roles, although he wants to. (Gary). Reliability is a central concern in using volunteers.
Breather after interviews
Anton Jay: Management and Maciavali
England had kings and courtiers and then there were the barrons out away from the court and they had their courtiers. The relationship between the king and the courtier and the king and the barrons. Who had priority courtier or barron? What configuations work and don't work?
Blake is our main contact. His ideas are least formed.
One thing that could be useful at this point is an understanding document that includes what we know and how we can help.
Assingment: Summarize interviews
England had kings and courtiers and then there were the barrons out away from the court and they had their courtiers. The relationship between the king and the courtier and the king and the barrons. Who had priority courtier or barron? What configuations work and don't work?
Blake is our main contact. His ideas are least formed.
One thing that could be useful at this point is an understanding document that includes what we know and how we can help.
Assingment: Summarize interviews
Friday, February 11, 2011
Interview with Gary
Gary is the director of the museum and farm country. (Costs, budgets, hiring, direction, animal health, proper care and feeding, maintain exhibits, some changes, etc.) 6 1/2 years as director.
Striving to become a single property instead of three separate.
He heads both museum and farm country so there are opportunities for combined activities, but nothing significant.
Working towards self-sustaining the museum/farm country, just to maintain the facilities. Replacing carpet, roofs, etc.
Wish list: Enhance the outside of the buildings (new dino sculptures around the building). Building a place for more variety of animals.
Selling annual memberships is much easier when the salesperson (frontline) knows about all the of the attractions at Thanksgiving Point. There are too many managers and directors to coordinate activities between areas and there is a big issue related to transfer costing and revenue sharing.
No full-time docents and no one is scheduled for a docent role. One person will roam the museum to 1) clean-up and then 2) interact, if needed. It is usually a ticket salesperson that roams for about 15 minutes and then comes back to the ticket booth.
Guest experience is the highest priority and second is revenue.
A good guest experience is something that the guests enjoy. When a child cries when they leave. When they leave, they think I am coming back. A welcome, clean, inviting environment. Educational and entertaining. Family interactions.
Training for the 15 minute roam includes a scheduling manager speading time training them. The training is for the props, exhibits, and interaction as well as how to sell tickets, use the cash register, etc. New employees get a tour with the full-time paleotologist (exhibit maintenance, no research), eventually. People can watch him working on the bone preping.
Guests should learn that learning is fun. Learning isn't what you do in school. He wants to change the perception that learning is tedious. He wants it to spark interests. He doesn't care if they know about dinosaurs and he wants them to grow together as a family.
Find the gnomes game in the museum help create a family interaction. There are Monday night activities (skavenger hunts, costumes, hand-outs, etc.). It is an opportunity.
Personal thought: What about the high score list in a video game?
He thinks the volunteer program could be enhanced. Most volunteer tasks are tedious because they require little training/cost. (Stamp hands, clean-up, etc.) He would love to have volunteer docents in the museum. There may be opportunity could earn stripes about each part of the museum.
He is not sure guests need to think the properties are connected. He wants them to attend all three, but not see them as one.
The real benefit to internally making the properties connect is cross-promoting and using expertise across properties. The problem he sees is transfer pricing.
Volunteer docent program: get the quantity and quality and then training them. Volunteers are hard to count on and if they are late then you might ruin the experience. No opportunity for paid docent program because of budget.
Striving to become a single property instead of three separate.
He heads both museum and farm country so there are opportunities for combined activities, but nothing significant.
Working towards self-sustaining the museum/farm country, just to maintain the facilities. Replacing carpet, roofs, etc.
Wish list: Enhance the outside of the buildings (new dino sculptures around the building). Building a place for more variety of animals.
Selling annual memberships is much easier when the salesperson (frontline) knows about all the of the attractions at Thanksgiving Point. There are too many managers and directors to coordinate activities between areas and there is a big issue related to transfer costing and revenue sharing.
No full-time docents and no one is scheduled for a docent role. One person will roam the museum to 1) clean-up and then 2) interact, if needed. It is usually a ticket salesperson that roams for about 15 minutes and then comes back to the ticket booth.
Guest experience is the highest priority and second is revenue.
A good guest experience is something that the guests enjoy. When a child cries when they leave. When they leave, they think I am coming back. A welcome, clean, inviting environment. Educational and entertaining. Family interactions.
Training for the 15 minute roam includes a scheduling manager speading time training them. The training is for the props, exhibits, and interaction as well as how to sell tickets, use the cash register, etc. New employees get a tour with the full-time paleotologist (exhibit maintenance, no research), eventually. People can watch him working on the bone preping.
Guests should learn that learning is fun. Learning isn't what you do in school. He wants to change the perception that learning is tedious. He wants it to spark interests. He doesn't care if they know about dinosaurs and he wants them to grow together as a family.
Find the gnomes game in the museum help create a family interaction. There are Monday night activities (skavenger hunts, costumes, hand-outs, etc.). It is an opportunity.
Personal thought: What about the high score list in a video game?
He thinks the volunteer program could be enhanced. Most volunteer tasks are tedious because they require little training/cost. (Stamp hands, clean-up, etc.) He would love to have volunteer docents in the museum. There may be opportunity could earn stripes about each part of the museum.
He is not sure guests need to think the properties are connected. He wants them to attend all three, but not see them as one.
The real benefit to internally making the properties connect is cross-promoting and using expertise across properties. The problem he sees is transfer pricing.
Volunteer docent program: get the quantity and quality and then training them. Volunteers are hard to count on and if they are late then you might ruin the experience. No opportunity for paid docent program because of budget.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Interview with Blake
They have finished construction design on the children's museum. They are ready to break ground this summer. Open late summer 2012.
All of the supporting businesses support a multi-museum complex for families.
Three main museum areas: Farmland, Dinosaur museum, Gardens.
The museum of natural curiousity is a children's museum. The real push for the children's museum is to think of an exhibit or activity as engaging a family as a whole. There are spaces for every age and every part of the family. It is not really a children's museum, but a family museum.
Blake handles programming and volunteers in all parts of the property.
Blake and his team...spent sometime in the dinosaur museum in December to see what kind of interaction and experience visitors were having and they were having as visitors. Brought the team together to discuss.
Project that impacts all aspects of Thanksgiving Point, facilitation based that raises the awareness of inter-connectivity of areas of the properties, (started calling this the ambassador program), incentive program for people wanting to be ambassadors, master gardners is a good example, art museums are good at this with their volunteer docent programs.
In the museum, there is a power in human interaction within the area.
John Faulk (researcher of museum experience)...Life-long learner.
3 areas: (internal staff training, create visitor curiosity about the entire property, facilitate parent-child/family interaction/engagement)
Guided experience to visitor's curiousity related to Thanksgiving Point. How much time do they have? What are their interests? When is it appropriate to approach a guest unsolicited? Are they reflecting or browsing or resting and don't want to be bothered?
Working with people requires a diagnostic method to determine what help they need.
General property training: Start with program staff (prototype group), move to staff (internal cross-training), move to docent/volunteers, move to members (invested visitors)...
Identify the connections between the properties...customize the experience using the diagnostic method by casually suggesting connections.
All of the supporting businesses support a multi-museum complex for families.
Three main museum areas: Farmland, Dinosaur museum, Gardens.
The museum of natural curiousity is a children's museum. The real push for the children's museum is to think of an exhibit or activity as engaging a family as a whole. There are spaces for every age and every part of the family. It is not really a children's museum, but a family museum.
Blake handles programming and volunteers in all parts of the property.
Blake and his team...spent sometime in the dinosaur museum in December to see what kind of interaction and experience visitors were having and they were having as visitors. Brought the team together to discuss.
Project that impacts all aspects of Thanksgiving Point, facilitation based that raises the awareness of inter-connectivity of areas of the properties, (started calling this the ambassador program), incentive program for people wanting to be ambassadors, master gardners is a good example, art museums are good at this with their volunteer docent programs.
In the museum, there is a power in human interaction within the area.
John Faulk (researcher of museum experience)...Life-long learner.
3 areas: (internal staff training, create visitor curiosity about the entire property, facilitate parent-child/family interaction/engagement)
Guided experience to visitor's curiousity related to Thanksgiving Point. How much time do they have? What are their interests? When is it appropriate to approach a guest unsolicited? Are they reflecting or browsing or resting and don't want to be bothered?
Working with people requires a diagnostic method to determine what help they need.
General property training: Start with program staff (prototype group), move to staff (internal cross-training), move to docent/volunteers, move to members (invested visitors)...
Identify the connections between the properties...customize the experience using the diagnostic method by casually suggesting connections.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Debrief interviews
All of the interviewees have mentioned a improvement of the educational experiences in all areas of the Thanksgiving Point properties. They are looking for ways to go to the next level meaning parent-child educational interaction.
Parent-child educational interaction is not something the only Thanksgiving Point is interested in. All children's museums want to someone enhance this parent-child educational interaction.
Scaffolding is bunch of different kinds of acts that you can do. It is intentional. To determine the kinds of scaffolding to use. Schank talks about what he thinks is going on when someone learns. (Book: Inside case based explanation). He described what happened moment by moment as someone learns. Part of this is "expectation failure" which sets off a chain of events in the learner. Expectation failure creates chaos until an explanation is found, then a new expectation is created. Search memory of experiences to find a similar pattern that makes sense of the expectation failure. Each step in Schank's list of moment by moment learning can be scaffolded. There are specific things you can do to scaffold learning.
What is the essence of the parent-child interaction? Father-child or mother-child or grandfather or grandmother...Give up authority role...make it fun for both parties. They brought to the museum what they practice at home.
Parent-child educational interaction is not something the only Thanksgiving Point is interested in. All children's museums want to someone enhance this parent-child educational interaction.
Scaffolding is bunch of different kinds of acts that you can do. It is intentional. To determine the kinds of scaffolding to use. Schank talks about what he thinks is going on when someone learns. (Book: Inside case based explanation). He described what happened moment by moment as someone learns. Part of this is "expectation failure" which sets off a chain of events in the learner. Expectation failure creates chaos until an explanation is found, then a new expectation is created. Search memory of experiences to find a similar pattern that makes sense of the expectation failure. Each step in Schank's list of moment by moment learning can be scaffolded. There are specific things you can do to scaffold learning.
What is the essence of the parent-child interaction? Father-child or mother-child or grandfather or grandmother...Give up authority role...make it fun for both parties. They brought to the museum what they practice at home.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Interview with Val (Head of Volunteers)
How does volunteering work at Thanksgiving Point?
It became more formal in 2005 when Val took over. In the beginning, there wasn't much training. Volunteers are broken into groups. USU partner with Thanksgiving Point to provide gardeners.
Largest group is 13-17 years old called "growing leaders" and facilitate day camps.
Regular volunteer program: Families, little kids starting at 5 years old (water bunnies, collect eggs), seniors up to 80+.
Val has an assistant who is part-time paid. She is 17 years old. She started at 11 as a volunteer. She helps with training, benefits, assignments for volunteers.
They are in the process of putting a tracking system online. 15,000+ volunteer hours during 2010. They track hours to write grants or ask legislature for money. Volunteers get some perks (free passes, food, recognition dinner, etc.).
All volunteers interact with the public. Most are used for large public events (concerts, dances, etc.)
How do you train them?
They build in a half and hour before each events. Map info, etiquette, event seating, rules, always be curtious. She builds in 10% extra volunteers for events and there is typically a waiting list.
Parent-child interaction is important. She thinks that if they start a casual docent volunteer role with their seniors in the dinosaur museum and figure it out in terms of training. Then it could be added to farm land and the children's museum.
She thinks younger volunteers would not be a good fit for this role. It needs to be a suttle role.
What are your goals?
More youth involved. Youth that volunteer are better members of their community. They can put it on their resume.
Tighten up the formality of the volunteer program. It is loose.
Wants a docent program in the museum. Especially for the school group tours.
How do the areas get their volunteers?
A lot of the volunteer opportunities are a case by case basis. She will get a request for a number of volunteers for an event. And there are specific jobs.
The children's museum will require a lot more volunteers.
The ambassador program would be filled with people would desire to be specialist vounteers in multiple areas of the property. They would be docent-level specialists in one area then become a specialist in another area and continue until they have the whole property covered.
Some volunteers work together a lot and have formed a sense of community.
It became more formal in 2005 when Val took over. In the beginning, there wasn't much training. Volunteers are broken into groups. USU partner with Thanksgiving Point to provide gardeners.
Largest group is 13-17 years old called "growing leaders" and facilitate day camps.
Regular volunteer program: Families, little kids starting at 5 years old (water bunnies, collect eggs), seniors up to 80+.
Val has an assistant who is part-time paid. She is 17 years old. She started at 11 as a volunteer. She helps with training, benefits, assignments for volunteers.
They are in the process of putting a tracking system online. 15,000+ volunteer hours during 2010. They track hours to write grants or ask legislature for money. Volunteers get some perks (free passes, food, recognition dinner, etc.).
All volunteers interact with the public. Most are used for large public events (concerts, dances, etc.)
How do you train them?
They build in a half and hour before each events. Map info, etiquette, event seating, rules, always be curtious. She builds in 10% extra volunteers for events and there is typically a waiting list.
Parent-child interaction is important. She thinks that if they start a casual docent volunteer role with their seniors in the dinosaur museum and figure it out in terms of training. Then it could be added to farm land and the children's museum.
She thinks younger volunteers would not be a good fit for this role. It needs to be a suttle role.
What are your goals?
More youth involved. Youth that volunteer are better members of their community. They can put it on their resume.
Tighten up the formality of the volunteer program. It is loose.
Wants a docent program in the museum. Especially for the school group tours.
How do the areas get their volunteers?
A lot of the volunteer opportunities are a case by case basis. She will get a request for a number of volunteers for an event. And there are specific jobs.
The children's museum will require a lot more volunteers.
The ambassador program would be filled with people would desire to be specialist vounteers in multiple areas of the property. They would be docent-level specialists in one area then become a specialist in another area and continue until they have the whole property covered.
Some volunteers work together a lot and have formed a sense of community.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Interview with Tracy
What is "the gradens"?
Gardens were created to have a lasting place of beauty. Gardens are a rather large expense and the other areas of the property support the gardens financially. The golf course surrounds the gardens for two purposes: revenue and a buffer for the quiet and solitude for the garden.
The area was originally alfalfa. The hilltops were moved in order to make land more productive.
55 arce parcel, 15 themed gardens, with pathway, it is called an estate garden. Gardens are screened by trees. Some of the primary goals were to create small intimate spaces as well as grand views.
Waterfall is the single most costly piece (360 feet long), 9 separate falls that comke off it, 65 feet tall.
Being designed from scatch, it was easier to make it flow and have smooth transitions.
Gardens are constantly changing.
What is the ambassador?
A means of making contact with our guests. That guests feel a connection to the property. Strengthens the experience.
Originally, no signage was wanted in the garden. They didn't want research or labels. TP is a display garden. TP held firm for about 3 years, but people want to know. So there is some signage now. 2,000 signs in the garden. Children like to play games with signs. So they need someone to put the signs back in proper places.
What would be helpful would be a field guide book.
Labeling area is small and non-labeled area is large.
Guest usually have cell phones and some have smart phones.
What are the categories of guests?
TP is a display garden. Want people to be inspired, color, tecture, shape. Landscape architects. Sharpening technique. Vocal opinions. Lots of why questions. Want guests to be surprised. Tracey doesn't want to categorize guests.
30% of the trees couldn't adapt to the environment.
What is the largest group?
Younger mothers with children in strollers and 50-60 year old women.
Do you keep a log of the questions they are asking?
Signage creation is a result of questions.
Ambassador program could be looked at as a volunteer strengthening. Gardeners are gone by 2:30 pm. The gardens are empty of full-time after 2:30 pm. Guests are on their own for the most part. It would be wonderful to be able to have knowledgable people to answer questions and point things out to the guests. Like owl nests. It would be a docent-type program.
They have gardener and advanced gardener programs.
Guests per day go from 300 - 8,000.
The first priority is display, then second is education.
First question is "what is that?"
Next group of questions is orientation-related and historical information.
TP wants mothers to get recharged, want them to watch their children play on the hill, they have simplier needs, their children have a safe environment to explore, children's garden has a noah's arch splash pad, watch their kids play in the water is a big draw.
Discovery carts (mobile learning experience, "did you know" moment). TP wants the children to discover.
Field guide is sent with field trip groups. Scheduled guided tours are available.
TP wants volunteers with passion for TP. Building the volunteer base is a big challenge.
Membership pass is mostly families. There is a grandparent pass.
Grandparents tend to be more teaching than when parents bring their own kids.
TP doesn't really have a facilitating activity for parent-child interaction.
Parent-child interaction is touchdown.
Facilitation (contact that enriches the experience) "His word for ambassador is facilitator".
Gardens were created to have a lasting place of beauty. Gardens are a rather large expense and the other areas of the property support the gardens financially. The golf course surrounds the gardens for two purposes: revenue and a buffer for the quiet and solitude for the garden.
The area was originally alfalfa. The hilltops were moved in order to make land more productive.
55 arce parcel, 15 themed gardens, with pathway, it is called an estate garden. Gardens are screened by trees. Some of the primary goals were to create small intimate spaces as well as grand views.
Waterfall is the single most costly piece (360 feet long), 9 separate falls that comke off it, 65 feet tall.
Being designed from scatch, it was easier to make it flow and have smooth transitions.
Gardens are constantly changing.
What is the ambassador?
A means of making contact with our guests. That guests feel a connection to the property. Strengthens the experience.
Originally, no signage was wanted in the garden. They didn't want research or labels. TP is a display garden. TP held firm for about 3 years, but people want to know. So there is some signage now. 2,000 signs in the garden. Children like to play games with signs. So they need someone to put the signs back in proper places.
What would be helpful would be a field guide book.
Labeling area is small and non-labeled area is large.
Guest usually have cell phones and some have smart phones.
What are the categories of guests?
TP is a display garden. Want people to be inspired, color, tecture, shape. Landscape architects. Sharpening technique. Vocal opinions. Lots of why questions. Want guests to be surprised. Tracey doesn't want to categorize guests.
30% of the trees couldn't adapt to the environment.
What is the largest group?
Younger mothers with children in strollers and 50-60 year old women.
Do you keep a log of the questions they are asking?
Signage creation is a result of questions.
Ambassador program could be looked at as a volunteer strengthening. Gardeners are gone by 2:30 pm. The gardens are empty of full-time after 2:30 pm. Guests are on their own for the most part. It would be wonderful to be able to have knowledgable people to answer questions and point things out to the guests. Like owl nests. It would be a docent-type program.
They have gardener and advanced gardener programs.
Guests per day go from 300 - 8,000.
The first priority is display, then second is education.
First question is "what is that?"
Next group of questions is orientation-related and historical information.
TP wants mothers to get recharged, want them to watch their children play on the hill, they have simplier needs, their children have a safe environment to explore, children's garden has a noah's arch splash pad, watch their kids play in the water is a big draw.
Discovery carts (mobile learning experience, "did you know" moment). TP wants the children to discover.
Field guide is sent with field trip groups. Scheduled guided tours are available.
TP wants volunteers with passion for TP. Building the volunteer base is a big challenge.
Membership pass is mostly families. There is a grandparent pass.
Grandparents tend to be more teaching than when parents bring their own kids.
TP doesn't really have a facilitating activity for parent-child interaction.
Parent-child interaction is touchdown.
Facilitation (contact that enriches the experience) "His word for ambassador is facilitator".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)