We have been asked to share some of
our previous research articles more broadly, and this blog is the
perfect way to do so. We will continue to archive our e-newsletters
articles here so that you have the opportunity to share them, and
comment back to us!
This
month we continue our series on family visitation at museums by focusing
on art museums and botanical gardens/arboretums. This research,
based on a national audience survey of 5,500 museum-going families, was
presented by Reach Advisors at the Association of Children's Museums conference
this spring. In this survey we asked what other types of museums parents
and grandparents like to visit with their families, which gave us some insight
on why they visit other museums, when they visit in the life stage of their
family, and how museum-going behavior shifts among different racial and
socio-economic groups.
In part one of this series we
investigated family museum visitation at science-based museums (e.g., science
centers, natural history museums, and nature centers), and in part two we
examined history museums and historic sites.
Art
Museums and Botanical Gardens/Arboretums: Mixed Trends
Art museums
and botanical gardens/arboretums were, in general, more popular than
history-based museums and less popular than science-based museums. 50% of
respondents reported visiting botanical gardens/arboretums, making it the
fourth most popular museum type overall. 39% of respondents reported
visiting art museums, making it the sixth most popular museum type. When
the data was further examined by age and demographic data, however, both
promising and troubling trends were uncovered.
Family Life Cycle
Families love to visit museums, and the data quickly confirmed that the age
of the oldest child was the principal factor in what types of museums
families visit.
Art museums do fairly well with families whose oldest child is less than
two, with nearly 41% of respondents visiting, making art museums the fifth most
popular for these types of families. But once that oldest child reaches
two visitation drops to less than 35% (see graph below). As the family
gets older, however, families return to the art museum, with 44% of families
whose oldest child is 8 or older reporting visits. Yet this growth
in visitation over time does not match the growth exhibited by most of the
other types of museums; art museums fall from fifth to seventh most popular
over the same period. This means that while families are returning to art
museums, they are visiting other types of museums even more.
Botanical gardens and arboretums had a markedly different visitor
pattern than any other type of museum; they were the only museum type to
lose visitation consistently over the family life cycle. Botanical
gardens and arboretums are actually the second most popular museum type for
families whose oldest child is under two, with 56% of respondents
visiting. By the time the oldest child is 8 or older, however, only 46%
of families are visiting and it has fallen to sixth most popular.
Grandparents
Overall, grandparents were
more likely than parents to take children to other types of museums, and
this was true for art museums and botanical gardens/arboretums. For art
museums, grandparents were significantly more likely to visit with their
families - by 11 percentage points. The difference for botanical
gardens/arboretums drops to just 5 percentage points, but in both cases
grandparents are a rather promising segment for both audience and membership
growth.
Race & Ethnicity Matter
While the age of the oldest
child in the family had the greatest impact on museum visitation, the likelihood
of a visit could vary quite a bit among racial and ethnic groups
responding. Although 91% of the survey respondents were Caucasian (who
therefore mirror the topline averages), with nearly 5500 total respondents, we
were able to obtain statistically significant data on African Americans, Asian
Americans, and Hispanics.
Art museums had fairly consistent visitation by race and ethnicity, with visitation hovering around 40% for all four groups (see graph below). Caucasians were the least likely to visit, and African Americans the most likely (among this sample of museum-going families).
Botanical gardens and
arboretums had quite different visitation rates, with Asian Americans
showing a strong preference for these types of museums with over 56%
visiting. African Americans were the least likely to visit with only 44%
reporting attendance.
Other
Findings
For most museums, visitation
increased with education, and this was true for botanical gardens/arboretums as
well. For art museums, however, the increase was far more dramatic
than for other types of museums; those with advanced degrees are nearly 2.2
times more likely to visit than those with a high school degree (43.1% vs.
19.6%). Additionally, art museums were the least favorite type of museum
for those with only high school degrees. This suggests that those with
lower education are finding higher perceived barriers to entry at art museums
than at other types of museums.
Visitors to art museums,
however, were also the most open to issues of diversity in their community.
When asked what traits were important to them in their community, respondents
that visit art museums were the most likely - sometimes by a large margin - to
identify a diverse population and a diverse and integrated community as being
important. Additionally, visitors to art museums felt most strongly that
it was extremely important to expose their children to different races and
cultures. This suggests that art museums can continue and extend their
work to use art to share the many different cultures of the world to their
visitors.
Why Is This Relevant?
While art museums do
ultimately exhibit visitation growth over the family life cycle, the dropoff in
visitation when children reach ages 2 - 4 is worth examining more
closely. Some of the written-in comments exemplify some of the reasons
why parents of pre-schoolers choose not to visit.
- I once took my girls to the [major art museum] where we are members, but did not feel it was a place that was particularly welcoming to kids.
- We try to visit both kid-friendly places as well as more grown-up oriented places (like art museums) so they learn how to behave appropriately in adult situations.
These
comments illustrate common perceptions among respondents that parents simply
do not feel that art museums are the most age-appropriate venue for youngsters.
In these examples, either the museum itself feels unwelcoming, or it is used as
a place to model grown-up behavior. Art museums that seek young family
audiences would do well to find spaces for family creativity as one
representative respondent captured by saying "Hands-on art activities are
always a plus."
Botanical gardens and arboretums have a great opportunity to attract more
young families as so many families do visit when their children are
infants. Their challenge is still great, however, as they must first
retain, then extend their audiences.
Interestingly, one of the reasons parents cited for liking botanical gardens
and arboretums is that they are perceived as being very clean.
- I like botanical gardens because . . . I am not worried about germs because they do not involve play exhibits that many children play on in the course of a day.
Germs
are dirty, while dirt is clean! Additionally, botanical gardens and
arboretums "help my children appreciate and connect to their natural
environment," a big plus for a generation of parents that loves to take
their children outdoors as much as possible.
To learn more
This short article only
scratches the surface of the research we conducted on this and related
topics. Please feel free to comment below with any additional questions or thoughts. Also, look for the October
issue for the final installment of this series, focusing on race, ethnicity,
issues of diversity, and museum visitation.
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