We all seem to like visitor interaction stories. Here's another from Orange Empire told to me last week.

A member asked a mother not to let her 5-year old son climb on a piece of rolling stock.

She replied, "Well, where can he climb?"

Calmly he said, "This is not a park. It's a museum."

"But where can he climb?"

The member said he shrugged and walked away -- beaten.

The member told me this story because we were talking about visitor safety. Of the story he said, one can only try.

This is on a parallel with the thread Things We Take For Granted That WOW Our Visitors.

We cannot expect the clientele to change their nature to accomodate our viewpoint.

We Fans of the Flanged Wheel see things with a peculiar astigmatism.

The " average Joe, Jane and the kids " do not have the cultural biases we have.

Looking at a cross section, 99 % do not see historic artifacts or lore as relating to them and their daily lives.
They do not have a reference or see it as part of a progression or continuum.
We, as Historians, like it or not, have to provide the references and comparisons, the touch, see and feel experiences that they can relate to.

A line of rail cars, baggage cart, telegraph key, rule book, schedule, old manual typewriter and train order hoop are all standard fare for the museums. That's all, well and good, but...

It is unreasonable to expect a 6 year old to relate to these, for more than about 3 seconds. They are full of energy and curiosity. They want to climb and explore. The parents can just barely relate, if they try, to the relics of three generations ago. They do, and with all good intent, want to have a fun and enjoyable time with the kids on a weekend or holiday.

If you want to be financially successful, it takes being popularly known as being a fun
and worthwhile place to go. Mom and Dad bring the kids, buy some trinkets, toys and hot dogs.
If you have a ride, Fantastic !
If you have something to climb or play with or somehow have interaction with the kids, there is the draw and long term key to success.

History is dull drab and meaningless...unless we put Life and Action and Relevance into it. Otherwise, it's just a dusty collection of old junk with a dedicated group of volunteers.

Just tell the mother to hang a tire in the kid's cage, like they do for the chimps in the zoo.

Well said 060 Hogger!

You need a tank engine they can climb on, like this:

http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/cape-girardeau-parks-are-well-trained/

What happens when the kid on the roof trips, falls off the back, and hits his head on the coupler on the way down besides some lawyers making a bunch of money? If it was at your museum how would you feel about severely hurting (or worse than that) a kid?

With a REAL BIG multilingual sign saying something "Keep Off--Not responsible for Accidents". Yeah, not going to slow any lawyers down, but then most museums qualify as "attractive nuisances" the same as a swimming pool. "It's not my fault Little Johnny climbed on the running board and fell off" but God forbid you put barbed wire around something to keep folks off/out.

Some days you just can't win.... but we keep trying eh?

Michael Seitz
Missoula MT

Every museum really should have a kid's play area, hopefully with a railway theme... even if it's as simple as a wooden train and sandbox.

It goes a long way toward making happy kids and relaxed parents.

http://public.fotki.com/elliottd/sfrmeo/railfest-2010/dsc-8221-jpg.html

Steve Hunter

Here are some ideas to start your museum playground:

http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/unplugged/5-coolest-playgrounds-u-213434473.html

It looks like the folks in Snoqualmie have a solution to the problem.

(also seen here)

The public sees trains as moving things, and items that kids really like, even in this modern age.
Really, should people at any RR museum be surprised when the parents don't 'get' that you have a museum devoted to something that most other people see in a different way? This reminds me of someone who runs a well-known toy museum. He said plenty of families walk away from the ticket window in disgust when they ask if there's anything for the kids to play with in the museum and are told no. They rarely listen for the explaination that it's a museum devoted to old and antique (and often very expensive and rare) toys. Should that be a surprise reaction either?

many of the posters in this thread have inadvertently explained why there are few "do it yourself" pump car rides at trolley and railroad museums. They would never be able to handle the crowds of visitors if they catered to the public's desires in any way like that!

The factor that limits our handcar rides most at RMEO is availability of volunteers to ensure safe operation. Nobody goes on the car without a qualified member supervising.

Our visitors love the handcars, and a couple have give us unsolicited, free publicity on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBrGn5hdFeQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwe4u33vFXA

Steve Hunter

Do I smell " Fear of Success " ?

Don't laugh, It is real.

I can name names of organizations which repeatedly, over decades,
shoot themselves in the foot by not ' catering to the public's desires '.

Why and how do they survive ? Free labor by dedicated volunteers keeps them alive.
They bumble and stumble along, on the edge between barely surviving in the rust and dust or calling the scrapper.

Some museum officials fear that to keep their tax deductible status and avoid some regulations that apply to carnival rides and ordinary businesses, they must show that they are providing culture instead of pleasure. As for the Art and other Museums that make an effort to cater to the "unwashed" masses? They have politicians and other wealthy influential people supporting them. This rail museum doesn't want them telling us how to get more visitors. Why, because of the Hours of Service law, we might have to qualify more engineers, etc., etc., and there aren't enough insiders to fill all those positions.