002 Penny for Your Thoughts

A chance to share your opinion with someone who cares

In addition to being grateful to the interview guests on the first season of the podcast, I would also like to give a shout out to everyone that responded to my Museum Interpretive Support Needs survey! This was distributed among people in the field that I trust and respect very deeply. Even with a small sample size of respondents, I was able to get a better idea of what people in the field currently want in terms of outside support. This allowed me to prioritize what to offer first.

Based on responses, discussions during the podcast interviews, and conversations at ALHFAM 2025, I have updated the survey and changed its name. This version is open to everyone, and some responses may be used for presentation purposes. This change was based on feedback; some respondents felt that this sort of compiled data could be useful if shared. So I came up with some specific questions while keeping anonymity in mind, and any question can be skipped. No e-mail addresses are being collected.

The original survey was mostly shared with department heads and other museum leaders. Upon reviewing the results, I became curious at how different support might look for frontline interpreters - even interns and volunteers. For example do those critical employees feel as supported by their leaders? Do they have more insight on visitor demographics and interactions? Questions have been added so that I can easily filter responses based on employee type to see what professionals at different career levels need in terms of support.

I encourage you to respond and share this survey with anyone that has insight into the changing world of historical museums and living history sites.

Thanks in advance,