Natural History Museum Collections Researchers' Perceptions of Behind the Scenes Tours

Abstract

This exploratory study examined a natural science museum's collections researchers' motivations for and barriers to offering behind-the-scenes tours. While existing literature has described scientists' views on public outreach and engagement, less is known about this particular setting and how bringing the public into what is normally a private workspace may differ both in terms of logistics and scientists' perceptions. Through survey (n = 44) and interview (n = 19) data, there was overwhelming evidence that researchers believed behind-the-scenes tours of their collections to be valuable to the public and to furthering the museum's mission. Their primary motivation for wanting to engage the public stemmed from a desire to contribute to society. Researchers also identified several barriers to leading tours in their collections including time constraints, safety or security concerns, accessibility, and ethical considerations. However, they also provided several suggestions for how to overcome these obstacles as the value of offering tours was seen as outweighing the barriers.