Guest profiles from earlier paper

Typology Profiles Data from evaluations and observations were compiled to create visitor typological profiles. The goal of these profiles is to highlight the particular behaviors of each group in order to design effective programming for all visitors to the Museum. Profiles consist of the following categories: • The Stroller Brigade • Moms on the Run • Daddy Duty • K-12 Squad • Grand Observer • No Kids Club The Stroller Brigade The Stroller Brigade makes up the majority of visitors and consists of mothers with young children ranging in age from infants to 6 years old. These mothers are not only pushing a stroller, but also tending to other children who are on foot. Even though they may have children of varying ages, their attention stays with the youngest while the older children explore on their own. The vast majority of mothers do not assist their children in interacting with the exhibits, or interact with the exhibits themselves, instead they tend to stay in one place or follow their children from exhibit to exhibit. If a mother does choose to interact, either by themselves or with their children, the interaction time is brief, usually less than one minute, and mainly consists of pointing something out to the children or briefly examining a manipulative. Rarely do they read a graphic or discuss the concepts associated with the exhibit to their children. If there are a group of mothers, they tend to stay in one place having a conversation while watching their children move around the room. A small number of mothers move through the exhibition with their children, but time spent at exhibits is brief. Moms on the Run Mothers with children older than 6 years old behave differently than mothers with younger children. These mothers do not have children in strollers, but may still have children of varying age. Even though these mothers might be tending to a young child, they are more apt to interact with their children at an exhibit. The older the age of their children, the more interactive they become with their children and the exhibit. These mothers tend to spend more time at exhibits, partially or fully read the graphics, discuss concepts, and engage in the activity. Rarely do mothers break off from their children or group to explore exhibits on their own. If they do, they usually call their children over to show them the exhibit. Daddy Duty The majority of fathers, regardless of the age of their children, are more apt to either move with their children through the exhibition, or break off from the rest of the family and explore on their own. Fathers generally read all or most of the graphics. They seem to be interested in performing the activity correctly and understanding the concepts associated with the exhibit. When with their children, they first read the graphic, and then explain the exhibit to their children while guiding them through the activity. K-12 Squad Children from toddlers to about 6 years old are interested in playing and exploring. They run around while their mothers chase them, throw manipulatives or put them in their mouth, and spend time touching and feeling everything in the room. Children over the age of 6 have a bit more of an attention span. They want to see and try all the exhibits. Their interest does not lie in whether they are following directions or interacting as the exhibit intended, but instead want to see what the manipulatives offer and decide whether the exhibit is cool enough to deserve further examination. For the most part, children do not read graphics. Children who do read the graphics tend to be over the age of 10, and seem to scan the graphic more than read it completely. Children of all ages are excited to show their parents an exhibit or explain what they discovered from an exhibit. Children in pairs or groups work together to figure out an exhibit or show each other what to do, this leads to longer hang time at exhibits. If an exhibit appears too complicated, children of any age will move away from it after a few seconds. Grand Observers Seniors rarely attend the museum without younger family members. They either accompany their grandchildren’s family or bring their grandchildren themselves. Either way, their behavior is the same; they interact with their grandchildren, but not with the exhibits. For example, grandma will ask her grandson what he is doing, but does not touch the exhibit herself. She then moves on with her grandson from exhibit to exhibit. Some grandparents find a seat and opt to watch their grandchildren instead. No Kids Club Even though the observed demographic is parents and children, some teenagers and adults visit the museum without children. These visitors spend more time at exhibits than any other visitor. They read graphics and apply what they learned by working with the manipulatives. Because they are spending more time at exhibits, they make comparisons between concepts at various exhibits. Their interest lies not only in entertainment, but also in learning through experience. Conclusion The focus of the Museum of Natural Curiosity is to promote family engagement and learning. Families do not consist of just one typological group, but are comprise of a number of groups. Staff must recognize the unique characteristics associated with each group in order to make connections that will engage all family members at once. By understanding group characteristics and learning styles, staff can fine tune programming to meet the needs of everyone who visits the Museum. Since staff will be facilitating to a number of groups at once, on the floor facilitation and demonstrations should be customized to accommodate a variety of interests and learning styles. Training facilitators on how manipulatives and demonstrations can be used to engage both adults and children is also essential to providing effective programming. An art project or a backpack activity that requires adult assistance will also provide a fun, educational way for families to experience the Museum together. Gearing lectures towards adults as well as children give parents a way to discuss the topics with their children and find exhibits that are associated with those topics. Through understanding the needs of visitors, the Museum can easily formulate an environment where families experience and learn together.

Meeting debrief - Questionstorm

Dr. Gibbon's comments: Where did we arrive at the end of the meeting? The idea of the five year plan to phase-in the ambassador program. They are ready for a plan from our group and it will be well received if we can address their major concerns (sustainability, details, etc.) Identity plan: How do you build the fellowship and identity of members? Benefits and responsibilities? Phase-in plan: How do you phase-in the community structure? Business plan: How do you pay for this? How can it introduce more revenue? What are the functions that ambassadors should be doing? Recruiting community members? Induction process? Advancement...Newcomer to oldtimer? Other kinds of achievements? Levels of commitment? Gradation of responsiblities? Training? Inititive reviews? Retirement? Amabssadors annual party. Quality-control...How is the program assessed? Identity? Distinctive dress? Pin, arm band, vest, etc. How do we know if it is successful? How to measure? Meet objectives? Joseph Smith gave people difficult things to do, right from the start...Increased commitment comes from asking people to do difficult things. Retention? How to communicate opportunities? Regular meetings? One-year mark? Incentives? Periodic cycles...Activities that happen annually, semi-annually, monthly, weekly, and daily. What are the periodic cycles of the ambassadors program? Evaluation cycle. Quality control cycle, budget cycle, etc. Communication plan...how to request and accept work assignments? Web, text, phone, print, etc. Stephen's comment: It was helpful. How does this plan effect each venue and how does it apply to the gift shop and concessions? The format (representation layer) for this is a report with color and graphics and spiral bound. They will be eager readers (they may read it twice) and there will be a 1 hour presentation (April 16 - 21).

What does Stephen think would be most useful?

Have a meeting with Gary, Tracy, and Blake. Ask them questions about how an ambassador program would be helpful.

Stephen wants the class to present an ambassador program to senior management to request funding.

Visit debrief

Comments from those that attended the visit:

Tracy's area is big.

There was a change in Gary regarding the financial sustainability of the Ambassador program. Gary appeared not to want to have any arguments in front of Gary.

Gary talked a lot about the museum Monday night activities. He saw it as a way to train his staff regarding the museum exhibits.

Gary is more concerned than Tracy about learning within their areas and about what the problem is that the ambassador problem is attempting to address.

Personal thought: Accounting advice

Although not part of the project, my personal thoughts about budget are that accountability and responsibility are not properly placed. Most businesses have problems with this unless they pay attention to it. Giving someone budgetary accountability and not responsibility for the decision to spend money makes he/she feel like they either shouldn't be held accountable or they should be able to say yes or no on proposed spending.

This type of situation can happen between cost centers and revenue centers because cost centers spend money, but revenue centers have to make money. Gary is a revenue center and Blake is a cost center. Transfer pricing is accounting's solution to this. It turns Blake into a internal revenue center meaning he has to sell his services to Gary and Gary has the authority to say yes or no to any service Blake is selling. Blake has to price his services (internal pricing) as if he was an external vendor. Gary will look at Blake's proposals and agree to the ones that meet his revenue goals and risk-taking adversity levels.

More or less, by act as if they were third parties, it might bring them closer together.

Visit planning

Filming and recording audio was discussed.
Getting a van was discussed.

Stephen discussed his conversation with Gary and Tracy:

They feel like Blake's programming plans are dropped in their laps and they don't have any implementation resources. They feel like the staffing and funding are not there yet. Gary is trying to keep cost down by reducing staff. Blake is in expansion mode and Gary is in reduction mode.

The gardens staff felt like they were spending extra hours for the purpose of Blake's programming and there is little or no recognition of that. Gardens staff feels like they have been taken advantage of.

Stephen wants our group to help with this problem as well.

Personal thought: Sounds like they need a good transfer pricing policy across the property. Decision-making and risk-taking and budgeting are not aligned very well.

Communities of practice revisited

In a community of practice, what is the induction process or rites of passage?

What are the subject matters that need to be mastered?

How many bodies of knowledge does a person get initiated into?

Write a paragraph...I think this is a good idea, or with modifcations, or I don't like it.

We need to have work meetings...Each area needs to get behaviors, content, identities and values.

Community of practice discussion

Thanksgiving Point community: Guests become volunteers, volunteers become ambassadors. Why does this happen?

Brainstorm:

Guests enjoy themselves want to get involved.

Culture review and influence

The scope of our attention is mainly helping parents interact with children. We will assume that Thanksgiving Point will evolve the general rules (e.g. be curtious, be quick to be kind, etc.).

Personal thought: Where in the property will parent/child interaction be most visible?

Expertise can be general and specific. General problem solving skills. Specific content solving skills. Our value add is where our specific expertise lies. We are instructional psychologist and technologists.

According to Stephen, focusing on the family group as guests would be key and best. Engaging with their own family members is where some great discovery learning and fun happens.

Task for next week: List suggested literature. Learning is a form of play.

My culture brainstorm

Cultural change

Bring a list in printed format:

Culture-
Reserved places
Stories
Rituals
Moment-to-moment action
Language
Habits
Skills

How do you go about influencing the items on the list? How many ways?

Imagine different scenarios...

Generative principle

What principle generates "the" list of words that define the role?

If you walk through a series of typical encounters/scenes, you will envision all of the adjectives that describe the ambassador. The generative principle is the "walk-through".

This might be a chicken-egg process because envisioning an undefined role is a process of defining the role and envisioning a walk-through at the same time in a cyclical way.

NEXT:

What are the subject-matter we need to invent (expected protocol for each type of action in each of the typical scenes, expected attitudes, expected improvising, etc.)?

How are we going to train the subject-matter? (leaders exemplify culture/norms/values/rules/how you act, make specific terms/discourse the natural language (slogans), ...

How do we generate "the" list of establishing and maintaining the culture of ambassadoring?

Our taxonomy (what are the words?)

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.

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

1. Help facilitate meaningful experiences with the visitors.
2. Be friendly and outgoing
3. Be somewhat knowledgeable about the subject matter in a particular venue (Gardens, Museum, Farm Country, etc.)
4. Be aware of upcoming events that may be of interest to the visitors
5. Be an advocate for both the visitors and Thanksgiving Point
6. Converse with visitors
7. Become a mentor/coach to other ambassadors-in-training

[end of email text]

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

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.