Should the mission of your park or museum
change? If our organizations need to reflect the changes of the modern world,
how can you adapt to the effects social media has on your reason to exist?

Purpose

The original purpose of historic, cultural,
and art museums was to collect, preserve, and present to society for education
and enjoyment.

The original purpose of most parks was to
preserve nature, maintain it in its natural condition, “conserve” unimpaired
for future generations and for public use.

Social Media Turmoil

California’s Poppy Reserve’s super bloom puts
social media’s havoc-causing outcomes front and center. Even with concerted
messaging to stay on trails, increased ticketing, and traffic control, the
public seems to ignore the “reserve”
part of the park’s mission, as evidenced by a

There are endless stories of selfie- and
photo-taking .
The newly formed word “” poses the question, are digital
experiences in museums art or entertainment? Is a pop-up museum really a museum
if its intent is for the photo opportunity?

causes people to flood to natural
sites to get the photo, often destroying nature instead of preserving it.

Is social media cutting out the process of
education and stewardship?

Cultural Change

There’s a cultural shift away from visitors
coming out to experience nature for nature’s sake to crossing it off a bucket
list. There is a detachment from experiencing nature, art, or history to
getting that one-of-a-kind photo. Several of my clients talked of an
entitlement and lack-of-accountability mentality from visitors. Visitors will
jump into a diorama and pick up a displayed object in order to get the photo.
When questioned, they respond defiantly that their tax dollars entitle them to
this behavior. It’s a “look what I did,” reason for being there.

The Problem

How do parks and museums maintain their
mission and purpose when the public’s reason for being there doesn’t match up
with it? Today, interpreters and educators have to frantically shift to
resource protectors when something about their site goes viral online. With
diminishing public funding, it’s a catch-22 because we need new audiences,
funding sources, and visitors to stay viable. Yet, those same goals are
juxtaposed with the founding mission of these organizations when education and
preservation are threatened.

One client said it may take some drastic
incidents like closed parks, destroyed resources, , or accidents for the public to
realize it is their job to protect these resources, too.

If the priority is to save our treasures—whether
they are natural environments or collections in museums—is it time for some
drastic measures?

Solutions

Many solutions are being implemented. These
include:

When I hear stories of poor visitor behavior,
I tend to be frustrated and outraged. I’m happily surprised talking to about the , as they are generally
optimistic. They know they need to embrace and accept this transformation. They
recognize that if people experience these treasures first-hand, they are more
likely to fall in love with them and want to protect them. . Some feel they are behind at handling this change, yet they are
creatively implementing solutions to enhance engagement.

Should museums consider entertain as part of
their mission? Should parks limit public use in order to protect natural
resources? Is that a change in purpose?