Attendance on
the Rise
By Danielle Scherer
The numbers say it
all: Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh is reaching more people than ever
Over the past decade,
attendance at Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh has nearly doubled, due in large part to the addition
of Carnegie Science Center in 1991 and The Andy Warhol Museum in 1994. The face of Carnegie Museums is very
different than it was 10 years ago; indeed, Carnegie Museums is now a
composite of four distinctive museums and their diverse audiences.
However, even after the
initial surge prompted by the two new North Shore museums, attendance has
continued to rise each and every year for the past five years at Carnegie
Museums of Pittsburgh.
In the year 2000 alone,
966,032,000 people—groups, families, and individuals—walked through the
museums’ doors. An additional
652,847,000 people were served by the museums through its formal outreach
programs. That amounts to more than
1.6 million people, about 57,000 more than in the year 1999 and the most ever
in the museums’ 106-year history.
These figures are especially impressive considering that the federal
government’s 2000 census reported that the population of Allegheny County—home to about half of the museums’ visitors—declined by 4 percent
over the past 10 years.
“We are delighted by
these numbers,” says Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh President Ellsworth H.
Brown. “Our vision is to set the
national standard for integration into the communities we serve, for our
mutual advancement, and we believe that the steady rise in attendance indicates that we are on the right track towards
achieving this goal.
“We continue to learn
more about our audiences through research,” Brown adds, “and we are
committed to using this knowledge to improve our visitors’ experiences and
encourage more visitation through creative exhibitions, education programs,
and special events.”
Carnegie Museum of Art
and Carnegie Museum of Natural History, which share the Oakland facility, have seen steady growth in onsite
admissions. A large portion of the
increase was due to the museums’ “blockbuster” exhibitions that appealed to
broader and more diverse audiences, such as the Carnegie International, Aluminum
by Design, T. rex on Trial, Light! and AFRICA. These
exhibitions were of international importance as well as of strong local
interest. Like Hollywood “blockbusters,” they not only attracted new
audiences, but also stimulated repeat visits to the museums. The blockbusters also helped the museums
fulfill their missions to present exhibitions that all people can enjoy.
These big shows garnered
record attendance numbers at the Oakland facility.
For example, during the 16-week run of Light!—which overlapped for a few weeks with Carnegie Museum of
Natural History’s well-attended AFRICA! exhibit—the Oakland facility set a new record of about 9,400 people
for weekly attendance. That is about
1,800 more people than entered the facility each week during Aluminum by Design’s 16-week run and
about 2,100 more per week than during the 1999/2000 Carnegie International’s 20-week run.
Blockbuster exhibitions,
however, are just part of the reason for increased attendance at Carnegie
Museums. The shared vision of
integration into their communities has inspired the museums to fine-tune education
programs to meet the special needs of particular audiences in the region,
including children, people with disabilities, older adults, and
economically disadvantaged people.
As a result, all four
museums have increased participation in their education programs,
especially in offsite or outreach programs in which museum personnel visit
people in hospitals, libraries, schools, and community centers. These programs include Carnegie Museum of
Art’s Stories in Art, Carnegie
Museum of Natural History’s Museum on
the Move and Senior EXPRESS,
and Carnegie Science Center’s Science
in Your Neighborhood. Taking the
museums’ collections and exhibits directly to people in their communities
is one of the ways that Carnegie Museums has endeavored to reach more
diverse audiences.
In addition, the
museums have witnessed a dramatic 80 percent rise in attendance through
special events. Attendance at
museum-sponsored events such as the Museum of Art’s Antiques Show, the Museum of Natural History’s Powwow and Gem & Mineral Show, the Science Center’s Science Festival and On Tap @ Carnegie Science Center, and The
Warhol’s Carpatho-Rusyn Event, has contributed to this increase. Most of these annual happenings were
launched within the past five years and have grown to become popular events
on the region’s social calendar.
A significant portion
of the increase in attendance at special events has come from rentals of
museum facilities for privately hosted functions. Carnegie Museums’ three architecturally
distinctive facilities, which house four museums, are valuable community
assets. Over the past decade, the
museums have capitalized on their great spaces by renting them for
weddings, parties, dinners, and conferences.
At the same time,
Carnegie Museums has been improving its restaurants and stores to ensure
that the increasing numbers of visitors fully enjoy their experiences. The Oakland facility’s Carnegie Café, Carnegie Museum of
Natural History’s Fossil Fuels, and Carnegie Science Center’s River View Café were renovated. In partnership with Parkhurst Dining
Services, the eateries introduced new menus and better marketing
techniques. These improvements
resulted in a 40 percent increase in sales at the restaurants since
1996. Coupled with the catering for
private parties, the food service program generates income for Carnegie
Museums of Pittsburgh’s general operating support.
According to Ellsworth
Brown, “This steady upswing in attendance, while a strong indicator that we
have been doing something right, only encourages us to continue looking for
new ways to make our museums even more vital parts of the communities we
serve.”
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