Historical Commission Agenda and Packet 2016 05 04

Home Browse Search

and field trips. In 2016, there are five different themes — "dirty jobs," "pioneer kids," "decision makers," "art explorers" and "silent stars." The camps run M -F, nine to noon, at a cost of $120 per child. The Museum's major fundraising event is the annual Golden Music Festival, a two day event staged by the Friends: proceeds go toward the museum operating budget. In addition, the Friends serve as visitor services volunteers and educational tour leaders. The Museum rents its grounds and facilities for weddings, parties, receptions, and business /civic meetings. Rentals begin at $150 for four hours. Longmont is projecting 65,000 visitors to the Longmont Museum in 2016, including over 8,000 student visits. With a budget of $1.2 million, the Museum is far larger than Golden's, but is similarly operated as a division of the City, with partnership from the Friends of the Longmont Museum which raises and contributes the funds needed for museum exhibitions, summer youth camps, summer outdoor concerts, and other programs. The Museum moved from nonprofit administration to being a City division in 1970, and benefited from a $5 million bond issue in 1999 leading to its current facility. A capital campaign launched in 2011 was a joint venture between the City and the Friends: the Friends raised most of the funds for a $4.5 million campaign for a new auditorium attached to the Museum. In addition, 20% of the operating budget is privately raised, while tuitions, rentals, and admissions offset the City's expense share of the operating budget. The Longmont Museum includes history as well as art, and features a children's museum room that is highly popular with young families. It stages two changing history exhibits each year to bring repeat visitors downtown: this year these include one on immigration, and one on invention. In keeping with its children's museum room, it offers "discovery days" for children 2 -5 with a parent /caregiver throughout the year, as well as history days during school breaks. It offers summer youth day camps and field trips including a story - telling field trip about "when Colorado was young." For outreach, it puts together "teacher trunks" delivered to classrooms, for a rental of $8 per week, to any elementary school. Adult learning programs range from quilting to history lectures and tours. The Museum rents out its galleries starting at $110 an hour for nonprofits. It rents the museum courtyard and atrium starting at $225 an hour for each. It also earns revenue through craft and birthday parties for children. As with Golden's museum, the Longmont Museum is accredited by AAM. The Littleton Museum serves about 140,000 visitors a year and is a primary tourism driver for the city. Its farms and blacksmith shop are the largest draw with farm animals and working demonstrations through the summer months. (The blacksmith shop is staffed by three volunteer blacksmiths during the summer.) Budget -wise the largest of the museums compared for this plan, it is also large in acreage and footprint, with 36 acres of land and a 32,000 square foot building that opened in 2005. In addition to being accredited by AAM, it is one of 140 museums in the country to be affiliated with the Smithsonian, bringing national touring exhibits to the community. Page 1 10 Louisville Historical Museum Business Plan Recommendations