At the suggestion of one of RyPN's respected correspondents, below is an article written by our Museum's General Superintendent (Manager), Rod Eaton. This appeared in our Museum's most recent newsletter. The title of the article is: "Who is our market?" (NOTE: We are the Minnesota Streetcar Museum, contrary to some who mistakenly think we are still a part of the Minnesota Transportation Museum. We have not been an element of that organization since 2006.)

While this piece has an understandably local focus, I think the principles contained in it can apply to virtually every railway museum, large or small. Here's the article for your consideration.
"I spent some time over two days at Choo Choo Bob’s at this year’s [Minnesota] State Fair. Along with a couple other museums, we had a small display and were able to distribute our 2010 Schedules. It was a nice opportunity to have a presence at the Fair. Thanks to Dave Norman, Dave French, and Aaron Isaacs for the time they spent there handing out our material and talking about streetcars. Anecdotally, that resulted in some Como-Harriet riders.
I’ll bet many of you have visited Choo Choo Bob’s Train Store in St. Paul and know that the store is a favorite for families with young children. Bob’s building at the Fair had the same appeal. There was a large train layout to watch, about an acre of wooden toy trains to play with, and all of the Thomas merchandise to look at. In addition, there were hourly live stage shows for the kids featuring a talented bunch of actors. The place was always busy, and I was surprised at the length of time people spent in the store.
Young children–boys especially, I think–love anything that runs on rails. Running my own garden railway Sunday afternoons for the past several years, I have first-hand experience with this infatuation. And even though we don’t operate “trains” at Excelsior and Lake Harriet, we’ve all seen the excitement in the eyes of children who come for a ride. This is the market Choo Choo Bob has captured.
Who is our market? There was a time when many of our visitors had first-hand experience riding streetcars around the Twin Cities. For them, our museum was a nostalgic trip back in time. Sadly, we see fewer of those folks every year. And although we always have a few trolley- and rail-fans, there will never be enough of them to support our operations.
Today, a large part of our ridership consists of families with children. They’re our repeat riders and Season Pass holders. They tell you how “crazy” their kids are about riding the streetcar. When they leave, they say “see you next week.” These families and their children are our core market. Marketing to them and providing experiences that appeal to their children’s rail zeal need to play a continuing role in our museum’s future business plan.
We already do a lot. Almost all of our special events are designed for families, from our perennial favorite Ghost Trolley to this year’s new Story Book Trolley. Events like our Streetcar Camp require extra effort and commitment from our volunteers, but they also offer significant personal rewards. And they help build our family-friendly brand. Our partnership with Wild Rumpus Books in Linden Hills provides the model for additional co-promotional events with local child-centric organizations.
What can you do? How about including younger passengers in your end-of-line talks? I know we all find streetcar history endlessly fascinating and believe that even fidgeting kids do, too. Most six-year olds, though, aren’t all that interested in things that happened a hundred years ago. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t ready to learn from you. I’ll sometimes ask kids how their school bus is like a streetcar, and how it’s different. That can lead to a simple discussion of how electricity gets to the streetcar’s motors. You’re not “dumbing down” your talk, you’re opening it up to include all your passengers. (The electrical concepts may be new to some of the adults, too.)
I’ve watched many of our volunteers interact with children and their parents, and I think we’re in great shape in that respect. Making everyone feel welcome, treating everyone with respect, and taking that extra few minutes to answer a question or point out a feature of a streetcar goes a long way in creating a positive experience. Those families will visit us again."

Thanks for this article. I hope people take these lessons to heart. I still quibble with the use of the word "market." I think we are are using it because we have all become accustomed to having things sold to us. We are constantly treated as potential consumers and I frankly resent it. Sitting here at home, I might be a part of a market of potential visitors to your facility. Once I am at your museum, I have already been "sold" on the idea of coming, and am no longer a part of a "market." I am a visitor.

Why not "visitors?" How about "audience?" Some non-profits call donors, visitors, and members "constituents."

The last time I rode an interurban at a museum, it was with a non-railfan machinist friend and his family. They were all predisposed to have a good time, and they did, except for a few notable things. The worst of which was when they stopped the car at the end of the line and the crew gave their speech about the museum, the car, and some notable artifacts in the collection. Almost none of it made any sense to my technologically-sophisticated friend and his family. We were told the city where the car used to operate, but nothing about the people who rode it and why, the role of the transportation system in the development of its community, the kind of landscape the car rolled through originally, etc. None of this. Instead, there were a lot of technical details, railfanish jargon, and self-congratulatory talk about their volunteer work. The kids were bored FAST, it was hot, and there was no escape. Little wails of displeasure erupted from the children throughout the car. Fights were picked amongst siblings. It got hotter.

Please, for the love of trains, get your docent training in shape. Teach them who their audience is and how to talk to them. This is important.