posted 02-20-2007 08:12 PM               

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Museum numbers drop to 5 million from 9.4 million in '03; officials puzzled

It's a mystery even for researchers at the Smithsonian Institution: What happened to the huge crowds at the National Air and Space Museum?

The estimated number of visitors to the museum plunged to about 5 million in 2006 from a six-year high of 9.4 million in 2003, according to the latest attendance report from the museum complex. And the decline has been far sharper than that of the overall Smithsonian, which includes 18 museums and the National Zoo.

Last year, attendance at what has been one of the world’s most visited museums fell below that of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, which features ancient fossils and the Hope Diamond. (Museum officials say this is the only instance in recent memory in which the air and space museum trailed the history museum.)

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posted 02-21-2007 03:49 PM               

In addition, the last few times I've been to the museum they've been renovating and/or thoroughly cleaning different sections. The last time I was there, which was probably May 2006, I remember noticing that certain sections were either completely empty or sorely lacking displays.

Also, for the casual air and space fan, one visit to the museum could be all they need.

posted 02-21-2007 04:09 PM               

The last two I attended at NASM were phenominal. . . Neil Armstrong. . . Wally, Gene, and Stafford. . .

Not only that, but I had a tremendous time touching base with many, many collectSpace members.

Actually any day at NASM is a great day for me. . . dreaming about the men and women and their machines. . . looking at the Wright Flyer from inches away. . . peering inside Friendship 7. . . imagining the X-15 going mach 6 or 7 . . . seeing the Vin Fiz . . . flying around the world with Rutan and Jenna Yeager. . . looking over the railing at the fragile lunar lander

Maybe in a few years I'll be a volunteer guide and storyteller.

I'll need to make more trips this year to help attendance. . .

Let's have more lectures, more lectures!

posted 02-21-2007 04:29 PM               

Beyond that though, there was something special about peering into Friendship 7 or Columbia, or standing on the balcony overlooking the lunar module and catching sight of a detail I didn't see before. I never tired of seeing them and it always brought a wide smile to my face.

posted 02-21-2007 06:24 PM               

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Originally posted by spacecraft films:
Economy? The GDP in the United States grew by 3.9% in 2004, 3.2% in 2005 and 3.4% in 2006. Terrible? By what measure?

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It's getting off topic, but GDP is only a an indication of a nation's economy on the large scale. It doesn't say where the wealth is distributed.

posted 02-21-2007 06:58 PM               

There are an awful lot of SUVs, designer handbags, cell phones, etc. etc. being purchased that are driven by middle incomes and the increases in disposable incomes in this country.

But I suppose this isn't the forum to get into economic discussions, so I'll stop here with my apologies to Robert.

posted 02-21-2007 07:17 PM               

"International travelers spent more than $107 billion last year -- an amount that includes food, lodging, recreation, gifts, plane fares and cruise fares, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. That's up from an earlier record of $103 billion spent in 2000.

"We have seen full recovery in spending by visitors to the United States since September 11," Ana Guevara, the Commerce Department's deputy assistant secretary for services said in a prepared statement. "This is good news for the U.S. travel and tourism industry, which employed 8.3 million Americans last year."

Also Thursday, the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that the total number of passengers making international flights on U.S. airlines rose by 5.9 percent for the first 11 months of 2006."

Source: = Associated Press, February 15

The only Washington DC figures I can find show that from 2004 to 2005 international tourism increased by 4.6% and domestic tourism by 5%. Of course we don't know how bad it might have been in 2004.

Of course this drop in attendance explains why the NASM hasn't restocked/ordered any of my DVDs in a while. They had a downturn just after the Iraq war started and put something of a freeze on their giftshop media purchasing. Then they came back strong when Udvar-Hazy opened. I was wondering what was going on. So I suppose for my own family's economy it is a downturn.

posted 02-28-2007 02:47 PM               

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The Museum has many objects that were taken to the Moon and back. Visit the Apollo to the Moon gallery for a sampling. Click on the photo above to see a lunar module on display, just like the ones left behind by the 12 Moon landings.

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posted 02-28-2007 02:58 PM               

1) a hotel room;

2) admission to places like KSC Visitor Complex or the "Cape: Then & Now" tour;

3) petrol to get there.

To me, one of the biggest thrills of going to the Apollo 1 ceremony at Pad 34 last month was that I didn't have to leave my left arm at a ticket booth beforehand.

posted 02-28-2007 06:15 PM               

While I do not know for certain why the NASM attendance almost HALVED, I have not had the best of experiences in my 2006 visits. For certain, however, the lectures are a must and we don't get enough. Lastly, while the speakers have been INCREDIBLE, the staff handling almost caters to the elite cash paying sponsors (Who lest we forget- without we would not have them at all. Thank you OMEGA, I'll someday buy a Seamaster.) However, the disdain for an autograph/signing session afterwards is evidenced through the Director's and other staff's words and actions. Despite following NASM rules, politely offering to allow a sponsor to proceed my "next in line" place and thanking them for their sponsorship, the staff seemed put out by the fact that they had a session at all. Sorry for the rant. Please don't flame me too badly. All in all, I commend the staff and museum for a first class museum which I visit 6 or more times annually. Thanks! J.

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Originally posted by Glint:
This just in from the NASM via my in-box:

So now there's 12 LEMs on the moon? And they wonder why attendance is dwindling.

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posted 02-28-2007 08:27 PM               

(e.g., KSC Visitor Center...a FREE attraction from 1967 until 2000. Cape Canaveral AFS Sunday drive-thru tours...a FREE privilege until the early-1980s.)

And oh, by the way, those sites are on FEDERAL installations. And another by the way, a majority of the hardware in the rocket gardens and museums was ORIGINALLY bankrolled by WHOM? (Certainly not the contractors who man the ticket kiosks.)

Anyway, I'll stand down now and revert to looking at my pictures from the '60s and '70s.

posted 02-28-2007 09:19 PM               

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Originally posted by Joe Holloway:
And another by the way, a majority of the hardware in the rocket gardens and museums was ORIGINALLY bankrolled by WHOM? (Certainly not the contractors who man the ticket kiosks.)

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And for that matter, which would you rather have? A visitor complex that is free but can't afford to modernize and thus fails to attract the public or an active VC that includes astronaut appearances daily, new attractions, proper and well maintained display areas for artifacts like the Saturn V and that consistently draws tourists from the Orlando fantasy worlds to the real Tommorrowland?

posted 02-28-2007 09:35 PM               

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Originally posted by dsenechal:
However, my children have little interest - not necessarily because they don't care about aviation, space, or science (my son is going to Purdue this fall to study aeronautical engineering, and my daughter's in her third year of chemical engineering), but because it isn't "fun".

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posted 02-28-2007 11:23 PM               

I think there are two issues here: pay and benefits for an NCO and what amounts to user fees for space history. I'm not disagreeing that perhaps an NCO should be able to afford such visits, but might suggest that there is a price for preservation and perhaps the maladjustment is on the revenue side rather than with the expenses. But just the fact that it was paid for with taxpayer dollars doesn't affect the argument. I paid for part of Air Force One, but I don't have the option of booking it for my next flight, or even seeing it for free whenever I want to.

Space interest even in 1976 -1980 was vastly different than it is today. Recently I saw a picture of the visitor center during the STS-1 rollout and it was PACKED. Cars everywhere. I wonder if it is even like that during a launch now. News coverage of flights was much more involved, including the first shuttle flights. Space held a much more mainstream fascination. Largely that is gone now, unless something goes wrong.

That having been said I'll offer up the following museum blasphemy and suggestion:

Personally, I love to just commune with the artifacts. Give me a museum or field full of the real things that were there or were built as flight hardware and I'm just as happy as can be. Atlas? I'm there. Saturn? Oh, boy. Flown spacecraft? Can I see?

But we have a special connection with this stuff that just isn't shared by those who didn't grow up living (and caring about) such wonders. And try as we might we simply cannot recreate that magic for our children. That capacity just doesn't exist. I'm not saying don't take your kids there and show them - I do every chance I can. But I've learned that I'm just not going to develop the same enthusiasm in them. It didn't come from the visit to the Cape - it came from watching the adventure unfold. And they don't have that in the same way we did.

So what are we to do? Well, research actually shows that parents who take their children frequently to museums gain no more educational advantage or develop specific interests than those who do not. However, there is one factor that does have an effect - and that is books in the home.

A couple of years ago I started a monthly purchase of a carefully chosen book on space for my kids (I actually purchase two - one for them and one for their school's library). I don't even say anything about it, it simply goes on the shelf for when they discover it (which they do). I even had one occurrence where one of my children checked out one of the books from the school library - that's ok - they didn't realize we had it at home.

I find this more effective than me drilling this stuff into them, because I live it, they know it, and I'm the old, weird dad. But they find it. And they like it. Because it is naturally compelling. And then they like going and seeing the places it all happened all the more. They now have context.

But when we go to the Cape they are still more interested in the rides than in looking at artifacts. And they still prefer Star Wars to real space. Perhaps real space exploration will be mainstream super cool again someday. I hope so. But until that day I'm afraid the best we can hope for is the artifacts preserved alongside the newest attraction that will bring visitors. And that we'll someday have the same sort of innovative leadership in space that will ignite imaginations.

Many of us have lived through a time when space exploration was born, AND we made trips to the moon. That's really extraordinary. I wish I could fully pass that feeling along. But that may be too much to ask. That spectacular time - that unbelievable feeling - is unique to our generation, and try as we might it will really take the same sort of leadership and achievement to create it once again.

posted 03-01-2007 06:11 AM               

I wanted to say, first and foremost, that your thoughtful comments are well-received. Further, I also wanted to say that I don't think my NCO pay is the issue here. We are, IMHO, well-paid (although the TRICARE insurance is a whole different story!).

A small point, if I may...flying on Air Force One, vacationing at Camp David, or riding in a Presidential limo, for that matter, are privileges of high office. Visiting Kennedy Space Center at no cost was NOT a privilege of high office for over three decades. It was an educational service to those of us who funded the program. Then, on 1 April 1999, it became a $24/adult and $14/child privilege...literally OVERNIGHT.

Something is wrong with that picture...period.

I myself have four children. I am thankful that the oldest two had the opportunity to visit KSC and the USAF Space Museum a few times in the mid-90s...that we extensively photographed and video taped our visits. Maybe someday, when and if Orion / Ares / Constellation / whatever take to the skies and a new wave of space enthusiasm hits (?), my two oldest will appreciate having had the access to the place they did. They can say, "We were there once!"

With the $75-$90/night hotel rooms and $2.25/gallon gasoline of today, however, I honestly can't afford $200+ worth of tickets just to get on the grounds and in the door of the very same places that were free in recent years.

By the way, my apologies to Robert for diverting attention of this topic away from the NASM attendance-issue. I'll try and stow my soapbox now.

-- Joe

posted 03-01-2007 06:16 AM               

As a Friend of the Milwaukee Public Museum, I get free admission at Chicago's Museum of Science & Industry (Apollo 8, Aurora 7, an LM trainer), the US Space & Rocket Center, Atlanta's Fernbank Science Center (Apollo 6), the former Michigan Space Center (Apollo 9), and the Virginia Air & Space Center (Apollo 12), just to name the ones which I've visited or have plans to soon visit.

Many other NASA facilities and other museums (Stennis [Apollo 4], Glenn Research Center [SL-3], Michoud [S-IC-15], Wallops Island [Little Joe], NASM, Air Force Museum in Dayton [Apollo 15, unflown Gemini and Mercury spacecraft], National Aviation Museum in Pensacola [Apollo 12], Grissom Memorial [Gemini 3]) remain free.

posted 03-01-2007 10:53 AM               

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Originally posted by Joe Holloway:
...In other words, taxpayers could actually enter the Federal visitor center at THEIR spaceport, gather brochures, buy souvenirs, learn about the next launch, view theater-projected NASA documentaries, and even get live demonstrations and lectures about the space projects-of-the-day...

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My apologies also to Robert for the slight "detour" that this thread has taken, but I thought I would post a PDF of a KSC Tour Booklet (5.5MB) from my collection for those who may still be interested in taking a FREE self-guided tour of the Cape (circa 1964). Ah, those were the days!

posted 03-01-2007 11:03 AM               

I was going to do the very same thing tonight after work! We have a really nice collection of the various booklets, beginning with the Ed White EVA on the cover all the way up to a Titan 34D!

(EDIT: I don't have this one in my collection. The earliest one is the Ed White EVA-cover!)

Those books are too darn cool! Take care.

posted 03-06-2007 11:56 AM               

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It's too hard to find parking

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are you aware D.C. has subway system they refer as Metro rail?

find lodging somewhere along the rail system route where you have a short driving to their parking lot....purchase the fare...exit off you chosen stop and "walk" the area.

posted 03-06-2007 01:03 PM               

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Originally posted by mjanovec:
Bill - thanks for posting that PDF! Great booklet from a great era. I love the DOs and DON'Ts at the end...especially "DON'T fail to enjoy yourself."

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Glad that you didn't fail to enjoy the tour!

posted 03-10-2007 12:31 AM            

It may not be the best news for the NASM folks and to those of us (me included)who are trying to make sure that the next generation understands just how important what is housed in the NASM is, but frankly I enjoy having the Museums to myself - which is what happened on my last visits. The NASM on the Mall was not crowded at all, at the Udvar-Hazy I passed 3 people on the way into the Space Hangar, and had the entire area to myself for at least 2 hours.

I think that the lack of attendance lately has a lot to do with Udvar-Hazy and the lack of new exhibits, but also current American culture as well. On one of the last visits I made to NASM, I sat down and watched the crowds go by and get an idea of what the demographics were and how the hordes of kids on school field trips visiting were reacting to the exhibits.

Most of the kids that I saw were treating the visit to the NASM like a visit to their local shopping mall - a big place to horse around in away from any parental authority that has a place to buy stuff, a fast food joint and doesn't cost anything to get in. They spent most of their time in their own little cliques taking pictures of themselves, running through the exhibit halls pushing and shoving each other along without actually stopping to look at anything, and making a run for the McDonalds (ignoring the LM on the way in). Usually whomever the adult chaperones or teachers were just let them go - and they had no respect or concern whatsoever for the people who were in the galleries trying to appreciate what they were looking at. If there was a set of parents with young ones toddling along or in a stroller, these groups of kids would knock them over and keep going.

I think a reason for the NASM decline is the same reason why theater owners are seeing declines in attendance - no one wants to spend the money, time and effort to go, and then have to deal with the inevitable rude bunch of knuckleheads who think that they can act up in the theater like they are in their own living rooms, and have the theater owners ignore the problem because they are afraid of lawsuits.

I was saddened to see the effects that the outgassing from the McDonalds was having on LM-2 - the Kapton/Mylar Foils on the descent stage were deteriorating to the point where the underlying framework was exposed. The railing and the display consoles on them were worn and greasy from french fry oil laden fingers, and you would not believe the absolutely nasty comments that parents were making to the guards stationed by the doors who were stopping parents and their kids who wanted to bring their burgers, fries and sodas into the museum.