Behind the Scenes
Museums involve many components that all must run smoothly to produce the best visitor experience. How do they do it?
Museums as Systems
I've visited over 70 museums as a guest but I've only worked at one! Most guests don't realize how much thought goes into the exhibits, programs, and galleries they enjoy. Museums are complicated and dynamic systems which must collaborate both internally and externally in order to be successful. Inside a single museum, many diverse departments collaborate to form the inner and outer sphere of the institution. Conservation, collection management, curation, administration, and other behind-the-scenes tasks are often considered the inner-workings of the museum. More often seen by the public is the outer shell, including education, exhibitions, programming, and visitor relations.¹ However, these spheres must communicate in order to be fully successful as a museum system and achieve the goal of the institution.² More and more in modern museums, these spheres overlap and permeate into each other to give us visitors a peak behind the curtain and a more holistic educational experience.¹
This semester gave me a deeper appreciation for all the complicatedness that goes into sculpting an incredible experience for us visitors! I had never fully considered the complexities involved in each piece of a museum. From the collection to the exhibits and from the audience to the administration, it takes all kinds of people to make the machine run smoothly.¹⁰ While most visitors only see a museum on one given day, keep reading for a peek into what museums are like every day!
Collections
A museum's collection is made up of objects which are believed to be more impactful together than apart. All "musealized" objects must be assembled with purpose and collected with the intention of preservation. Because the power of objects is what makes museums so special, each item undergoes a transformation when it becomes part of the collection, as it loses its function and is reinstated as a piece of history with context and value. Visitors interact with the objects and bring in their own experiences, so the interpretations may change over time but the provenance (prior history of the object) remains significant.³
Audiences
People visit museums for a variety of reasons and museums must meet these expectations. Most want to learn but also have a relevant experience with personal meaning.⁶ Overall the museum must consider the person-document transaction, which explains how people portray their own experiences onto the objects to shape their museum visit.³ The Stanley Museum of Art at the University of Iowa has a unique program in which museums educators bring their non-accessioned collection to schools for kids to handle and learn from. The objects closely reflect the permanent collection in appearance, symbolism, history, and culture but are able to be brought into the community to engage students through their curriculum.⁴
Exhibits
Each exhibit must revolve around a Big Idea that aligns each piece of the design toward one common mission. The Big Idea is essential because it is meant to guide what the visitor will take away from the exhibit. Throughout the design process, everyone from the curator to the installer should remain focused on the Big Idea.⁵ Exhibits can take up to two years to create, with revisions constantly being made. Although exhibit development is a long and detailed process, it is of utmost importance since exhibits are the primary way museums communicate with their visitors.⁶
Administration
Museums have to think about a number of administrative functions like fundraising, branding, and hospitality.⁸ Since most museums are non-profits, securing donations is essential to their survival. The best fundraising tends to center around relationship-building and creativity in order to retain donors and establish connections in the community.⁹ Branding is also important so museums portray their missions consistently across all platforms. Visitors should know what to expect from their trip! Across the board, all guests expect hospitality. Museums must concern themselves with "guestology" and aim to provide a welcoming and impactful space for everyone who walks through their doors.⁸ The key to museum operations is team members who blend their strengths to create the best guest experience.¹⁰