The Challenge of Moms

Moms are a tough audience.  They come to museums in large numbers, and with certain expectations.

Yet when we analyze the data from our major studies of museum visitors, we find that while moms in their thirties and forties are, overall, the largest audience segment visiting museums, we also find that they are the least satisfied segment as well.

Most likely to visit.  Least satisfied.  Let's step back and consider this.

Museum-visitor moms in their thirties and forties are primarily parents of pre-school to middle-school age children.  They are very well educated, when compared to the general population, and thus tended to postpone child-rearing.  They are also relatively affluent when compared to the general population. 

But despite their relative affluence, these moms tend to be highly budget-minded.  They tend to be more likely to join to pay for services they (and their families) have received, or to save money, than they are to contribute for more philanthropic reasons, such as to improve the museum. 

In our studies, moms are also the least satisfied audience segment, as illustrated by the graph below:

Yet they visit museums a lot, visiting their local museums multiple times a year.  Why?  Primary reasons given are family time, for learning opportunities for their children, and because their children like to visit. 
 
What is missing here? 
 
Mom's interests.

Overwhelmingly, when we look at the responses of moms in all of our studies, it has become clear that the primary drivers for museum visitation are the education, entertainment, and engagement of her children.  In the written-in comments from moms, moms rarely use words like "I" or "me," but instead use "we" and "my family."  Mom's interests, and engagement, tend not to be on the agenda. 
 
Moms are coming in large numbers, yet they are the most dissatisfied audience of all.  What gives?

When we began to analyze the responses of moms in our recent science museums and Connecticut surveys it became clear that there were two types of moms responding.  One group of moms who believe that visiting museums is an important thing to do for their children.  The other group are moms who believe that too, but these moms are also curious, omnivorous cultural consumers who love going to museums.  And when we compared the responses from these two different groups of moms, we found huge differences in their attitudes and their visitation patterns at museums.

The curious moms overwhelmingly fall into the category we call "Museum Advocates."  They love museums and value what they have to offer to them, their children, and their communities.  These moms tend to be more likely to support the museum for philanthropic reasons than the other moms, are much more positive about the museum, and are 50% more likely to say that their needs are met.  Finally, these moms visit a much wider variety of museums with their children, from science museums to art museums to history-based museums, etc.

The moms who visit primarily for their children overwhelmingly fall into the category we call "Core Visitors."  These moms tend to choose from a smaller variety of museums that moms perceive to be more age-appropriate for their children, namely museums that are highly hands-on, such as science centers and children's museums.  These moms tend to cycle in and cycle out of museums based on that perceived age appropriateness, and some types of museums are visited rarely, if at all. 

Because the focus of these moms is so much on the needs of their children, it seems as if Core Visitor moms make themselves second class visitors at museums.  It is not something that museums do to moms, but something they do to themselves.  And since Core Visitor moms are less likely to be engaged with the museum themselves, the fear is that their lack of engagement, and interest, subconsciously rubs off on their children, who then stop asking to come to the museum, breaking the museum-going habit.  And that is something we cannot afford. 

Instead, museums have a tough nut to crack:  engaging moms by layering on content for her in a way that clearly does not detract from the engagement of her children.

This is a topic that we are obsessing about at Reach Advisors.  When we analyze the two different types of moms, there are no significant demographic differences.  They have similar education levels, education levels, etc.  Yet their engagement levels, and their attitudes and visitation patterns, are very different. 

Of the handful of differences that we noticed, there is one we will flag in this email (with more to come in future discussions and research).  While almost all moms tell us that hands-on activities are primary attractions for their visits, the curious, engaged moms are much more likely to also mention narrative and story-telling, saying things like "telling with a good story is key."  That is a path of inquiry we are anxious to explore further as we continue our research to discover more about the differences in these two groups of moms, and the implications for developing more Museum Advocates.

As we plan additional research on moms, and Museum Advocates, we would love to hear from you what questions this data raises.  What do you want to know more about?  Is there anything you disagree with?  To share your thoughts and questions click on "comments," below. 

Data from Connecticut comes from the Reach Advisors study of Connecticut Cultural Consumers,

funded by the Connecticut Humanities Council and Connecticut Landmarks.

 

Comments

[Aviva Luria]

I'm wondering if there is a middle ground for mothers. I was the child who was dragged around to museums based largely on my parents' interests. That also meant that we stayed far longer than was enjoyable for me and that visits to museums could turn into drudgery. Now with a child of my own, I focus on his needs, so although I take him to a variety of museums, we look mostly at what he wants to look at and limit our time according to his ability to stay engaged and happy. I believe most museums can be interesting to even the youngest of children, but there's no doubt that a successful visit means paying attention to the basic needs and level of engagement of the younger set.

Can museums help shed light on a "third way" for moms and their children?

[Susie Wilkening]

Hi Aviva -

There is undoubtedly a spectrum in attitudes and behaviors of parents/moms. That is, the issue is not totally black and white. Generally, we find that most parents do make choices, and limit time, based on the needs of their children. Although there are certainly extremes in the behaviors of parents too, the vast majority of moms fall in the middle and are very focused on the quality of the experience for their children.

The difference is the level of engagement of the parent as well. Those parents who are engaged as well have very different experiences, and perspectives, on the museum. So how do we ensure that parents become increasingly more engaged without detracting from, but actually enhancing, the experience of children?

So you are absolutely right - a successful visit still means paying attention to the basic needs and engagement of the younger set. But what else can we do to engage the parents as well? That is the nut we need to crack!

- Susie

[Jennifer Caleshu, Bay Area Discovery Museum]

This is a VERY interesting line of discussion - and one we have a lot of stake in, as a children's museum. Our research shows similar results - possibly slightly more engagement with about 45% strongly agreeing (9 or 10 on a scale of 1-10) with the reason for visiting "because I enjoy it" whereas 92% strongly agree they visit because it is "fun for child." And about 50% strongly agree they visit "to spend time together as a family."

Part of what helps us is our truly stunning setting under the Golden Gate Bridge - it's a pretty great place to play with your kids. I'm also hoping a new series of family classes for toddlers/preschoolers and their caregivers increases engagement - though I have a feeling that those who sign up are likely to be on the more-engaged end of the spectrum anyway.

And overall, this is a nut we have to crack if we're going to create lifelong affiliations with our members - beyond when their children age-out (age 8 or so) - and thereby increase our donor pool as well...

[Kathy Haas]

I am a mom with two preschool kids and I am also a museum professional, so this really spoke to me. I take my kids to children's museums and also to other types of museums (art, natural history, living history) and I often find it difficult to engage with the museum myself while meeting their needs. I think its satisfying and enjoyable to spend time explaining dinosaurs or counting the number of shells on a Newport chest, but if I really want to see an exhibit, I try to find a way to leave the kids at home, since if we go as a family I find my time severely curtailed and my attention distracted. I also have to admit that children's museums often bore me up the wall--I try to bring a book to read. Finding some way to provide an interesting adult experience while the kids play would be great.

[Linda Peterat]

I read with interest the recent article about moms in ASTC Dimensions. You propose that moms are seeking narrative experiences, encourage closer cooperation with narrative-based museums, and talk of the importance of narrative hooks. But what exactly, specifically, concretely do you mean by these? What is an example of a narrative experience? A narrative hook? My own research in a science centre found much what Kathy speaks of in the previous message. Moms go for the kids and find it difficult to meet their needs at the same time as the children... they are busy keeping them engaged, focused, supervised and find they cannot read much or engage much themselves while responsible for several others....

[Susie Wilkening]

Thanks for all of these comments!

Moms tend to perceive certain types of museums as being active and hands-on, while others are pereceived by moms as being more story-based. Children's museums and science centers are perceived as being hands-on, while history museums, historic sites, and natural history museums are perceived as being more narrative based, with stories wrapping around the content. These are, of course, generalizations, as museums can be quite good at more than one. But generally, these perceptions are what moms believe.

We would love to dig much deeper into the challenge of moms, and one thing we will certainly be examining in more detail is how Museum Advocate moms do balance those needs of their children with their own engagement (and how they use their own engagement to increase that of their children). It is a great question.

Susie

[Steve Boyd-Smith]

Thank you for some valuable research and interesting conclusions. It has generated some useful discussion within the Zoo for which I work. Here are a few of the points I sent around there:

Narrative does not require linearity. People build narratives in their heads, whether we give them a defined beginning, climax, and end or not. What they need, in order to build that, are the elements of a story: characters, changes over time, and a consistent message and themes.

Other suggestions I'd have for increasing engagement in adults:
Have information at places that safely engage kids. I've noticed this at the Children's Museum. Tired parent comes to museum to get out of the house. While kid is (finally) safe and engaged, parent can take a little mental break from kid. I've seen parents read very long labels because that's what's nearby.

Speak directly to adults at some spots. Perhaps have a unique logo or graphic element that identifies short bits that give higher-level (or narrative) info that helps adults feel smart.

The narrative doesn't have to start and end at the museum (or Zoo) doors. Use the magazine, e-news, and website to build and develop a narrative that engages consistently.

Make the visit comfortable and easy. As other people in the survey said: “place benches generously," “better coffee,” and “free parking!” As a parent of young kids, I'll also second the coffee thing. I quit visiting the local Children's Museum because they didn't have coffee (or a place to warm baby bottles). The Zoo did so I'd go there instead. Furthermore, I wasn't forbidden from taking it into the galleries. I could carry my coffee with me.

[J. Tevere MacFadyen]

Thanks to Steve Boyd-Smith for pointing me toward this interesting and valuable exchange of ideas.

One other thought about what we mean by "narrative":

In our interpretive planning and design practice we're increasingly interested in exploring ways to move beyond narrative and into dialogue. Put another way, this is a shift from "story hearing" or "story telling" to "story sharing." If we create opportunities and incentives for guests participate in the story-making process and to share their stories with one another we transform visitors from being passive consumers of our narratives into active creators of their own narratives and participants in a conversation.