Adult programming in museums commonly defaults to lectures, symposia, films, and guided tours. These are perfectly reasonable avenues for education and engagement, but they cater to a pretty specific type of learner and museumgoer. What about adult programming that allows for active participation, collaborative learning, and straight-up social interaction?
I found this quote from a since-deleted user in r/museumpros to be a good jumping off point when thinking about a broader range of programming for adults:
I think there’s a place for everything in a museum. Museums know that they should be a place for fun for kids – that kids learn through play. They learn by moving their bodies and doing re-enactments, by doing make-believe, by using their hands to physically construct things. But for adults, we kind of don’t offer a lot of opportunities for playfulness…
I am ALL in favour of careful looking. Don’t get me wrong. But it’s not the only way to learn in a museum space and it’s not going to be the best way for all visitors. Having a diversity of programs is really the best way to service a very wide audience.
I think museums want to be taken seriously, and it stops us from being a place where adults can indulge in fun. We take our jobs as educators and places of meditative looking really seriously, but what about our role as a place for community building, gathering, and play? We really struggle in terms of finding ways to be inclusive of adults — if they don’t like our programming, we think it’s their fault … well, no, they’re showing up to look at your stuff, they’re just not engaging in your programming or interpretation because you’re not offering something that appeals to them. (Source: Opinions and Experiences With Museum Hack)
Let’s take a look at some recent examples of a more interactive approach to adult programming.
Behind-the-Scenes
In addition to a monthly Six Degrees of Science tour, during which visitors can gain a deeper understanding of the connections between exhibition halls, the Houston Museum of Natural History offers Sleuths & Secrets Mystery Night, where visitors team up to untangle a web of clues, evidence, and history to unlock the riddles and mysterious objects in the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Speaking of, the Buffalo Museum of Science has done a Behind-the-Scenes Collections Tour: Cabinet of Curiosities featuring a peek into the Vertebrate Zoology Collection’s spine-tingling Cabinet of Curiosities, along with “mind-bending stories of some of nature’s unique freaks, morbid mistakes, and seemingly scientific impossibilities.” A macabre twist to adult programming is always enticing!
Sound Baths
A sound bath is a meditative experience where those in attendance are “bathed” in sound waves from various sources. The Contemporary Austin is one of several museums to host Sound Ceremony With Artist Guadalupe Maravilla:
At the sound ceremony, the artist and sound healers will play the gongs to activate the work and create an immersive soundscape, restoring calm and balance to those in attendance. The gongs are tuned to specific frequencies related to the earth, the ocean, and the moon.
The sound ceremony will last for approximately one hour. Audiences are welcome to sit or lie down on the grassy meadow and inside the bus.
The Denver Art Museum takes it a step further with Sound Healing: The Power of Sound, which focuses on sound as a healing force through cross-cultural perspectives. Participants learn about meditation and sound bathing, breathing technique and body movements, and how sound can be used in everyday life to release stress and to calm the body and mind.
Throw a Party
Science Museum Oklahoma has had great success with SMO21+, an adults-only evening program that features a different theme each time, one that guests are encouraged to fully embrace. With cocktails, music, and experiments that are too advanced for the younger set, the museum bills it as the perfect date night, girls’ night, or night out with friends. It’s a true social gathering; visitors are encouraged to bring a group. And how’s this for tantalizing, from the program description: There’s always a Secret Room and we won’t give you hints.
A more low-key version of this is Friday Night Lounge at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The galleries stay open until 8:30 p.m. and adults can gather in the Great Stair Hall for live music, locally sourced spirits and wines, special events, and tours. Something like this can be promoted as a destination for a lovely evening or as the start to a more sprawling night on the town.
Children’s Exhibits, But Make It Adult Only
Children’s museums can find success with adult programming as long as they are able to get the word out to interested parties. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis hosts Halloween After Dark for ages 21+ featuring a haunted house and the opportunity to serve on a jury in The Verdict — an interactive mock trial to decide the eternal fate of misplaced spirits. Participation counts for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit!
The museum also regularly includes adults-only events to explore special exhibitions like Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Secrets of the Sewer. The evening event for this one included signature green cocktails.
Sometimes it can be as simple as any museum offering adults room to explore without the added chaos of children. Carnegie Science Center offers adults-only evening events typically centered around the current special exhibition. Here’s how it’s described:
Experience an exclusive after-hours party at the Science Center, spread across all four floors. With no kids around, dive into deeper science content, witness daring experiments, and enjoy party games with friends. Explore fascinating topics like pop culture, mythology, space, and more.
Open Mic Night
An event like this can work for any type of museum, can be hosted indoors or outdoors, and can feature musicians, comedians, poets, storytellers, or all of the above. Fort Worth’s Amon Carter Museum of American Art planned an installment of Cocktails at the Carter around an open mic night and included plenty of additional fun:
Enjoy an evening on our front porch and listen to local talents play original music as we host an open mic night, organized by Chris Curtis and Ed Rogers of Sam the Lion. Cocktails inspired by our collection will be available for purchase from a local bar. We’ll have art making, food trucks, and lots of room to boogie, all in front of the best view in town.
As you can see from the description, the Amon Carter had partners — in this case members of a local band — to help with the open mic logistics.
During Pride Month, Petal Power: Open Mic Night at the Tacoma Art Museum offered programming as part of a commitment to celebrating and uplifting LGBTQIA community members while they are here with us, living, breathing, and making history and art. The open mic event was an opportunity to be seen, heard, and celebrated in a supportive environment.
Scavenger Hunts
Outside companies frequently create and utilize museum scavenger hunts for their own profit; why not get in on that action and make your own with riddles, challenges, and side quests for adults to enjoy?
The Quincy Museum recently mixed a scavenger hunt with refreshments and a networking event for young professionals. Partnering with local businesses for networking and team building events are great ways to bring in diverse groups of adult visitors. The International Spy Museum offers team-building scavenger hunts either during museum hours or as after-hours events, with the option to include customized scavenger hunt questions for an additional fee.
A Valentine’s Day take on the adult scavenger hunt comes from the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut: The Sweethearts Self-Guided Tour centers around an adult scavenger hunt to explore love-themed artworks in the galleries. Ticket holders also enjoyed prosecco and chocolate-covered strawberries served in the historic Landers House.
Related Reads
Check out these additional resources on adult programming, including ways to weave educational components into your events:
Unlocking Curiosity: Transforming the Rijksmuseum with an Escape Room Experience (design tips)
5 Best Educational Program Planning Tips for Museums
10 Creative Programming Ideas That Museums Can Offer Adults
Design Instruction: Andragogy and Pedagogy (includes action steps)
Recommended books:
The Participatory Museum
