From parades to concerts: how St. Louis' museums count attendance

Stltoday.com ^ | June 10, 2013 | David Hunn

[Uncle Chip]

ST. LOUIS • One summer day several years ago, the St. Louis Science Center sent a dozen staffers to ride the museum’s two-wheeled Segways in the city’s Fourth of July parade downtown. They waved at the crowd.

They handed out fliers. Later, back at the museum, officials estimated 20,000 people saw them in the parade.

Then they added the figure to their attendance.

It boosted the museum’s visitor tally that day to more than 24,000 from about 4,000.

The region’s five tax-supported cultural institutions all count attendance differently. The Missouri History Museum includes the thousands that flock to its summertime concerts....

But the Science Center in particular provides a window into the importance — and ambiguity — of attendance. Over the years, center officials have counted career fairs at schools, robotics competitions at area stadiums, off-site board meetings and multiple parades, miles from their home on Oakland Avenue.

In addition, they counted every student at the neighboring Compton-Drew Middle School — which once partnered closely with the museum — every school day, sometimes even when the district called a snow day.....

Museum researchers, consultants and administrators across the country say there are no standards for attendance reporting. Some museums count door entries only. Some add in any “engagement,” from IMAX movies to weddings to evening lectures.

“Others just want to maximize their per-capita value to a community,” said Steve Jacobson, a national museum consultant. “That’s where you see taking liberties with the numbers.”.....

In 2007, the Science Center made the Forbes Traveler list of most-visited U.S. museums. Administrators quickly added a new moniker to press releases: 1.2 million visitors, they boasted, and the only Missouri museum to make the top 25.....

[Uncle Chip]

It’s not just bragging rights. Museum presidents are evaluated based in part on attendance. Donors look to it as one sign of institutional health. Politicians want tax-supported museums — the five St. Louis institutions together get $70 million a year in tax dollars — to serve as many constituents as possible.

St. Louis Alderman Joe Roddy tried to calculate how much tax money each of the five institutions received per attendee. But he used figures reported to him by the museums.

“That’s the problem with all this stuff,” Roddy said recently. “Somebody needs to develop some performance measures for these things, and figure out what the hell we’re getting for our money. Nobody’s doing that.”

[lurk]

St Louis, a wonderful city full of history and a decent baseball team. Also full of dead voters.

[Uncle Chip]

Also full of dead voters.

and museum attendants too.

[camle]

sounds like abunch of weasels to me...

[Ann Archy]

It’s a DARK BLUE CITY!! THEY LIE AND CHEAT.