How to make the most of promoting your Senior Day

In addition to offering seniors access to collections through traveling programs and online materials, museums have made use of the “Senior Day” as a means to bring the audience of age 65 and up to the actual institution. “Senior Day” can be very effective in providing seniors with an opportunity to remain social and active while pursuing an educational experience. Museums have to market these events to the seniors to increase attendance just like any other event, and in this age of technology most websites are museums' corner stone of spreading the word on their programming. As such, a review of a sample of museums offering information for “Senior Days” online reveals what information should be provided to best meet the goal of bringing seniors to the museum.

The four museum sites this blog will examine are: The High Desert Museum in Oregon, The Morris Museum in New Jersey, The Galt Museum and Archives in Alberta, Canada, and the Rubin Museum of Art in New York. All of these museums offer “Senior Days” with the High Desert and the Rubin programs being completely free while the Galt and the Morris programs being free with admission to the museums. Here is a summary of the information provided on each museum's page:

• High Desert: A picture of two seniors studying an artifact heads the page with the logistic information of the date, time, and brief description of the event directly below it. The page also includes the sponsor for the event (Pacific Source Medicare) and a schedule of events- for example, “12:30 Cat Talk by the Lynx enclosure.”¹
• Morris: Large print text indicates that “Senior Days” occurs every third Friday of the month followed by the start time and brief description of the event. The page also provides an overview of the exhibits a particular day will focus on.²
• Galt: Text indicates that “Wednesdays at the Galt” occurs every first and third Wednesday of the month and that the program is for ages 55 and up. Below is a series of calendars with a description of what will occur on each day and/or who the guest speaker will be- for example, “Photographic Archaeology Tour Jim McMurchy will take you on a photographic tour of archaeological sites in southwestern Alberta, ranging from excavations, pictograph and petroglyphs, to medicine wheels, buffalo jumps and more.”³
• Rubin: A picture of three seniors studying an artifact is placed next to the information explains that “Senior Day” occurs every first Monday and that there will be guided tours, tickets for the museum's film that day, and a discount in the store. Below this information is a schedule of events- for example, “11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Mahasiddhas in Himalayan Art - A one-hour program, a combined theater and gallery experience, that provides visitors with an in-depth look at the lives of yogis as expressed in Himalayan art.” The page also includes information on alternative programming for seniors, namely the Lunch Matters program, and accessibility features the museum offers.⁴

All four of these museums have pages that are uncluttered and fairly easy to follow in that a senior looking for information would not have to jump from page to page to learn about each “Senior Day.” The Galt's page has a more complicated design and might be more difficult for seniors to navigate if they are not used to viewing web pages

Another feature that should be present is the schedule of events for the day. These schedules allow the seniors to get a sense of what is available to them so that they can tailor their visits to fit their needs. The Morris page only highlights the exhibitions to be discussed and does not provide any schedule or event description. Any senior who has never visited the Morris has very little information to figure out if they would find a visit worthwhile. On the other hand, the other three institutions have more information on the types of activities the event will include thus allowing the senior to see what parts of the day will spark his/her interest the most and plan accordingly.

Museums should also take note of the feature that only the Rubin includes- information on accessibility. Seniors as an audience to a museum have a high likelihood of needing some form of assistance Providing information on what types of assistance the museum can offer and telling the senior where to look for the means to acquire the assistance at the museum will enhance the senior's visit.

Overall, the keys to promoting a “Senior Day” are a clear presentation of the who/what/where/when/why of the event, a schedule describing the activities of the day, and an explanation of available accessibility. All of these features will allow the seniors to choose how they spend their day and help ensure they are comfortable at the museum.

1“Senior Day.” High Desert Museum web page- http://www.highdesertmuseum.org/Whats_Happening/Senior_Day/

2“Senior Days.” Morris Museum web page- http://morrismuseum.org/senior-days/

3“Wednesdays at the Galt.” Galt Museum and Archives web page- http://www.galtmuseum.com/programs-seniors-wedsatthegalt.htm

4“Senior Visits.” Rubin Museum of Art web page- http://www.rma2.org/pages/load/75