Strong National Museum of Play

JCA Answers Powers Decision Making at Strong National Museum of Play

“JCA Answers Analytics allowed us to confirm that our decision to stay open later on Saturday evenings resulted in greater overall attendance.”-Earl F. Johnson, Vice President for Finance and Operations

“I had a hunch that the parking situation at our museum was costing us visitors during our busiest days. During February break week, for example, our parking lot usually fills by mid-morning, and I suspected that visitors who couldn’t find parking were leaving instead of finding garage parking and walking to the museum. So, we thought, why not test this theory by introducing a shuttle that takes museum visitors to and from a designated parking garage? Thanks to JCA Answers, we could quickly see that the shuttle was a huge success.”

“For the 2010 break week we set up a pilot program to direct visitors to a garage and then offer a shuttle back to the museum. During that trial, the shuttle transported 3,500 guests while the museum had record attendance of nearly 23,000 visitors. That Friday we set a record with 5,840 guests! We could track this against attendance from the year before using JCA Answers Analytics, and it was obvious that our hunch was right. The shuttle cost us just $4,500, while we estimate that we made an extra $35,000 from guests who used the shuttle. The shuttle service turned out to be incredibly valuable, and JCA Answers Analytics helped us prove it.”

The Strong™ is a highly interactive, collections-based educational institution devoted to the study and exploration of play. Independent and not-for-profit, the Strong is situated in Rochester, New York, where it houses the world’s most comprehensive collection of historical materials related to play.