Transforming theNatural History Museum of

Los Angeles County from the Inside-out

Karen Wise, Vice President, Education and Exhibits

The Dilemma for Natural History Museums

• Beloved but stereotyped • Valued as a public good but not as a

place to visit regularly • Name recognition but no program

recognition or awareness

The paradox: wanting new stuff without loss of treasured memories

The Dilemma for Natural History Museums

• NHMs have special internal challenges because our core is conservative by its very nature

• NHMs require top notch functions with divergent professional canons and cultures

Elements in the NHMLAC Transformation

• Mission statement & activation• Branding – holistic approach• Capital Project & impacts • Organizational change, budgeting,

metrics • Visitor Studies and Market Research• Everything else

Mission of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

To inspire wonder, discovery and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds

Motto that guides us: where our visitor experience meets our Research and Collections

Branding research and implementation: “You’ve made it better without changing it”

The visual transformation makes it look easy…

Success: “You’ve made it better without changing it”

The Capital Project major activities

8

• Seismic retrofit & renovation, 1913 building & unit 1 of 1920s bldg

• Age of Mammals: opened July 11

• Rotunda: opened July 11, “What on Earth” & “Life through Time”

• Car Park: opens Spring or Summer 2011

• Dinosaur Mysteries: opens Summer 2011

• North Campus: opens by Summer 2012

• Nature Lab: opens by Summer 2012

• Under the Sun: opens late 2012

9

Old Cenozoic Fossil Hall

12

New Age of Mammals

Old Dinosaur (Mesozoic) Hall

14

Dinosaur Mysteries – Summer 2011

3.5 acres

*

*

Old Museum Grounds showing footprint of future North Campus

Strategic planning/Organizational Change

• Money: budgeting, tracking, constant corrections

• Collaboration: easy to say, hard to institutionalize

• Initiatives: Setting big goals that actually mean something; objectives that are reachable but stretch us

• The right metrics

Visitor Studies & Marketing Research

• For us, the most specific and practical information has been the most useful in helping us transform our relationship with our visitor

• Staff members from all professions respect relevant, well presented data and look for ways to act on it

Category Sum ‘09 Excellent

Rating (9 or 10)

Sum ‘10Excellent

Rating (9 or 10)

Variance 2009 Benchmark

Average

Overall Satisfaction

47% 72% +25 69%

Admission Value

48% 75% +27 63%

Entertainment Experience

47% 67% +20 62%

Educational Experience

66% 78% +12 69%

Employee Courtesy

53% 88% +35 81%

Cleanliness 51% 84% +33 82%

Crowd Control 63% 72% +9 74%

Inconvenience 8% 12% +4 13%

Attendance – FY10 v. FY11

21

+ 50.4%

44,851 67,434 46,094

“Everything Else” • NHM TENTATIVE SCHEDULE as of Thursday, June 10, 2010 NOT CONFIRMED, FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY •  • TBD before July 11, 2010 (?): • Insect Zoo moved to main floor, more live animals into DC• South Entrance project complete• Way finding to 1913 building (any other way finding?) complete•  • July 11, 2010: AOM & ROT open (including ROT store) •  • September 2010:• Temporary café closes (?)• DC closes (???)• Begin testing in ‘demo center’ •  • December 2010: full opening of ‘demo center’ (to be renamed)•  • January 2011: Car Park opens•  • Spring 2011: New café opens; rollout of new ticketing system•  • TBD, by summer 2011: Dino Lab renamed/New graphics, possibly other changes•  • July 2011: • Dino Mysteries opens*• North entrance, bridge open, outdoor ticketing in entry plaza begins•  • Fall 2011: PST participation TBD•  • TBD: • Fin whale closes/de-installed for UTS installation; insecct zoo closes • Lando Hall closes? Changes to open storage/public lab? School visits?•  • Spring 2012: NC fully open; NL open•  • December 2012: UTS open•  • 2013: Centennial year. Exhibits throughout museum? (ROT? Temp gallery? Small spaces?)•  •  • QUESTIONS•

- Staging options for NC (coordination of DM load-in during NC installation)• - way finding for North Campus• - staging space for UTS (add Garland Hall???)

Challenges

• Resources– Staff Capacity – Funds

• Institutionalizing changes and maintaining focus

“Opportunities” remain

But we’re on the move…