I came across this interesting piece by American marketing guru Seth Godin today:
I think in every single case, what keeps museums from being remarkable:
- the curators think the item on display is the whole thing. As a result, they slack off and do less than they should in creating an overall story.
- they assume that visitors are focused, interested and smart. They are rarely any of the three. As a result, the visit tends to be a glossed over one, not a deep one or a transcendent one.
- science museums in particular almost beg people NOT to think.
I can’t remember the last time a museum visit made my cry, made me sad or made me angry (except at the fact that they don’t try hard enough).
I am not sure if this is harsh, out of date or complete rubbish, but I think to be fair that like most generalisations, some of this is true of some museums.
Let’s look at these criticisms one by one:
- To say that curators ’slack off’ and do less then they should to tell stories seems pretty out of date. Museums have moved from being item focused to being visitor focused over the past decade and any curator would find it hard to swim against this tide.
- Museums have a responsibility to appeal to the widest audience possible. This isn’t always easy, but with new technology, the museum experience should be growing towards being tailor-made for every visitor.
- Most Science Museums are aimed at children, again I think it will be interesting to see how technology allows these venues to become more relevant to their audiences through tailor-made experiences.
Perhaps Seth is just going to the wrong museums.
