Heidi Kartchner and Dr. Julie Hartley, Anthropology

The Study

During the months of May and June 2008 I conducted a research study at BYU’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures (MPC) in Provo, Utah. My intent was to research the MPC’s supporters, looking specifically at their leisure habits and patterns of cultural consumption and how that plays into their museum visiting habits.

Methodology

I generated data for this study by conducting surveys and employing participant observation, focus groups, and interviews on site at the Museum. For the most part I worked with supporters who came to the Museum for their own interests, but I did arrange with a few of my informants to come to the Museum for interviews. I generated an electronic survey using surveymonkey.com, an online survey website, and distributed it to MPC supporters via the MPC’s electronic newsletter. This proved to be an unsuccessful method of data collection, because I collected very few responses with it.

However, the other three methods I used during this study proved useful. The focus groups allowed me the opportunity to watch groups of the supporters interact with each other and converse about various questions related to the topic of my study. Throughout the study, I conducted three different focus groups with a total of 16 participants. I employed participant observation in the MPC galleries or during events at the Museum and observed approximately 400 people through this method. These events included date nights, family nights, a prehistory day block party, a family day event, tours, fieldtrips, scout group trips, and a children’s program called “Mornings at the Museum.” Interviews were the most useful source of information. I spent the majority of my research project conducting a total of 72 individual interviews. 42 of these interviews were formal and scheduled in advance. The other 30 interviews were less formal and were conducted spontaneously with people who came into the galleries or attended events.

Results

Through this study, I collected valuable data concerning habits of museum supporters. Identifying patterns and trends among museum supporters will help the MPC and museums in general better understand the people that support them. This information can then be used to attract further visitors and supporters to museums.

Time Categories

Specifically, I found that museum supporters divided their time into distinct time categories. Each of these time categories have characteristics associated with them that define activities during those times. The time categories that most museum supporters divide their time into are: weekly routines, leisure time, and vacation time.

Weekly routines are characterized by strict schedules and many demands. During an average week, the supporters that I interviewed have lots of demands from work, school, homework, and families. These demands cause their weekly routine time to be highly planned out and organized.

Leisure time has characteristics that are very different from weekly routines. The supporters define their leisure time as the time they have where their time is not planned for them and they can do what they want. They each have a little bit of leisure time during the week and generally have more leisure time on the weekends. During this time supporters engage in a variety of activities including art, casual sports, surfing the Internet, shopping, watching TV and movies, and many other various activities. There were no significant trends in the activities supporters participate in.

Vacation time is characterized by time that is more planned than leisure time, but less planned than weekly routines. When on vacations, supporters usually have plans for what they want to do and see, and for the most part they stick to those plans. The amount of planning that goes into a vacation differs between supporters, but they generally like to have some sort of plan. Another important characteristic of vacation time is that supporters get to do and experience things they cannot do or experience at their homes. When on vacations they like unique and new experiences. For example, one of the supporters reported that while she is on vacations she only goes shopping at touristy stores, because she can shop at other stores when she is at home (Personal Communication 7 June 2008). The supporters engage in activities they can not do at home; specifically, almost all of the supporters reported liking to visit museums when on vacations.

Expectations in Museums

In this study, I used the MPC exhibitions as a case study of a museum visit to gather data on the expectations supporters have when they are visiting museums. I found, in general, that museum supporters like to have planned and organized experiences while casually visiting museums. They like exhibitions with numerous interactives and many things to touch and experience. Additionally, museum supporters like to see things in exhibits that are unique and rare. For example, one supporter commented that when he goes to art museums he does not like to look at Impressionist art, he would rather look at new Modern art. He explains that he is familiar with Impressionist art but not Modern art, so he prefers to see things that are more foreign to him.

A Time for Museums

What is it about casual museum visits that correspond so well with vacations? The expectations supporters have of museums are similar to the expectations supporters have of their vacations. First, casual museum visits and vacations tend to be planned. Since both are so planned, the experience of visiting a museum fits in perfectly with the experience of a vacation. In addition, supporters like to see new exotic things when they are on vacations and in museums. One way that supporters fulfill their desire to see new exotic things while on vacations is to visit museums.

Overall, the time category of “vacation time” best suits the casual museum visit experience. Museums should, therefore, focus their advertising efforts on vacationers and tourists. They should also aim their marketing strategies toward highlighting their museums as places where visitors can have unique experiences that they cannot have in any other place.