Aniko Korenchy-Misz's presentation at the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism in Budapest, Hungary on April 1, 2014

1. Non-traditional visitors' skills
and expectations in museums
Anikó Miszné Korenchy
Museum learning facilitator
Hungarian Museum of
Trade and Tourism

2. • General trends
• Special case of our museum
• Tour of our museum
• Try our chocolate-making
session

3. Theoretical ramblings
• Skills and expectations?
• What is non-traditional?
• Do they come together or
separately? Are these the same
in all museums?
• Are expectations just about
learning?

4. History of museums

5. History of museums
• Temple dedicated to the Muses
• Pinakotheke/Galleries
• Private collections – Cabinets of Curiosities
• Bothanic gardens (practical use: herbs for
remedies)
Rarely open to the public/ Private viewings
BUT visitors felt priviledged;
FOR learning and enjoyment

6. History of museums
• University museums – Ashmolean, 1677
• Private collections opened to the public
(disappointment for both sides due to the lack of
interpretation?)

7. Education through exhibitions
• Trade fairs and public exhibitions
(celebrating progress and achievements
through history)
• Crystal Palace
London, 1851
• Skansen,
Stockholm, 1891

8. Expectations 1.
• to look upon beauty
• to discuss ideas with others
• to experiment with natural phenomena
• to be „amused”
• to learn
• to engage with objects and information
„From a temple to a forum” (Duncan Cameron, 1970s)

9. Learning and enjoyment
• Visitor studies and adult learning theories
relatively new
Collins (1991) explores adult learning as the
interactive relationship of theory and practice. In
basic terms, the adult learner studies a particular
theory and then puts it into practice when
presented with the opportunity to do so. Thus,
the understanding of an adult learning theory
can prompt practice, and practice can prompt
theory revision.

10. Adult learners
• Self-direction
• Practical and results-oriented
• Less open-minded
• Slower learning, yet more integrative knowledge
• Use personal experience as a resource
• Intrinsic motivation
• Multi-level responsibilities
• High expectations
(Relevance)

11. Expectations 2.
• easiness and fun
• cultural entertainment
• personal identification
• historical reminiscences
• escapism
(A study of experience
expectations of museum
visitors by Chieh-Wen Shenga
és Ming-Chia Chen, In:
Tourism Mangement, Volume
33, Issue 1, February 2012,
Pages 53–60)

12. Museumness Scale
No, it is not a
museum
Yes, it is a
museum
Zoo 68% 7%
Aquarium 57% 11%
Botanical Garden 50% 7%
Children’s 36% 29%
Art Gallery 14% 43%
Industrial 14% 68%
Technology 7% 75%
Science 0% 71%
History 0% 100%
Archaeological 0% 100%
Source: MEETING VISITORS’ EXPECTATIONS
The Perceived Degree of Museumness
Angeliki Antoniou and George Lepouras
https://www.academia.edu/2982609/MEETING_VISITORSEXPECTATIONS

13. Expectations 3.
Museum
• learning
(fun activity in a historical or
archeological museum
will surprise the visitor)
• socializing
• entertainment (not
important)
Not a museum
• entertainment
• socializing
• learning

14. Expectations of future visitors 1.
• More senior visitors (refusing to be called retired)
• Accessibility issues (physical, reading, manually-operated interactives)
BUT with modern design
2030 Vision: Anticipating the Needs and
Expectations of Museum Visitors of the Future,
Smithsonian Institute, Office of Policy and
Analysis, Washington, DC 20013, July 2007

15. Expectations of future visitors 2.
• Activities that keep them mentally fit
(Conscious on health)
• (A brain healthy day at the museum could include a brain muscle
workout from stimulating exhibitions and interactives, cardiovascular
exercise walking the miles of exhibition pathways, and a lunch rich in
antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids.)

16. Expectations of future visitors 3.
• Generation X: spend time with their family (including family and dad-
focused programming (such as the Bronx Zoo’s ‘Daddy and Me’
program), outdoor space, reading/nursing rooms, and family bathrooms.
(Reach Advisors, 2007); more contact with community members*;

17. Expectations of future visitors 4.
• Generation Y: special relations to technology; different ways of collecting
and sharing information; importance of social networks; mobile
technology and reachable everywhere; multi-tasking;
Their learning: more self directed and less dependent on top-
down instruction, better arrayed to capture new information inputs, more
reliant on feedback and response, more tied to group knowledge, and
more open to cross-discipline insights, creating its own ‘tagged’
taxonomies. (Rainie, 2006)

18. Other demograhic trends
• an increased proportion of minorities in the
population,
• a greater number of non-traditional types of
households,
• increased diversity in youth social groups

19. In response
Museums must
• think of audiences as active participants and not
passive consumers of information;
• be willing to place young people in positions of
real authority to affect programs and outreach
(Tagging)
– www.steve.museum, a collaborative online research
project run by volunteers from primarily art museums
– Smithsonian Photography Initiative
http://photography.si.edu/ that allows users to explore
the collections through user-generated keywords

20. James Heaton

21. Inclusive museums
• Museums as Places for Intercultural
Dialogue
http://www.ne-mo.org/fileadmin/Dateien/public/service/Handbook_MAPforID_EN.pdf
• Museum Literacy
http://www.fitzcarraldo.it/ricerca/pdf/musli_finalpublication.pdf
• Community Exhibitions as Tools for Adults’
Individual Development
Final conference May 18-20, Budapest

22. Hungarian Museum of Trade and
Tourism

23. CreativityFun and
New skills
Reminiscen
ce and
Socializing

24. Co-curation
Increased self-esteem
Involvement

26. Thank you for your attention
Miszné Korenchy Anikó
Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism
www.mkvm.hu
E-mail: korenchy.aniko@mkvm.hu
or mlalapitvany@gmail.com