EdVenture works hard to meet visitors’ expectations

I want to thank Pat Catoe for taking the time to write about her recent experience at EdVenture (“EdVenture was big disappointment,” April 29). Feedback allows us to get better, and we are grateful for all of it, even when it describes us at less than our best.

Spring break week was indeed a challenge, as we had 4,000 more visitors this year than last. We clearly weren’t prepared for that increase, and it highlighted an area where we need to make an immediate adjustment.

Mrs. Catoe was absolutely correct that some exhibits need improvement. Over the past six months we have developed a plan to revamp and upgrade most of the museum’s exhibit areas, and are beginning to implement that plan now. Children’s museums differ from history and art museums in that our exhibits are handled by thousands of little people each year. So exhibit upgrades must be a constant aspect of both planning and daily operation. We count on visitors to tell us if they see an area in need of repair, because anything can break or even disappear in the moments after we make a round through a gallery.

Mrs. Catoe also noted that we sell memberships and charge admission. But the membership revenue only covers our utility bills. We rely on donations (from private sources and government grants) and earned income (gift shop sales, birthday parties and facility rentals) for the $4.3 million required to maintain a 98,000-square-foot facility, pay the staff, purchase educational materials, operate after-school programs, offer workforce development and teacher education and deliver hundreds of hours of off-site programming annually. That said, the museum still has to be clean every day for our visitors, and thanks to their feedback and our own observations, we have made staffing changes since spring break in order to redirect resources to additional cleaning support.

EdVenture is not a city-operated entity or a state agency like the State Museum with whom we share our parking lot. Rather, we are a nonprofit that relies heavily on our community and tourism visits to operate both a museum and a robust human service organization. So the community’s opinion really matters, and as hard as Mrs. Catoe’s comments were to hear, we are grateful for feedback.

We are proud to be listed among the top 20 children’s museums in the nation, and believe we have changes coming very soon that will move us even higher in those rankings, bringing ever more families to visit Columbia to experience all our region has to offer.