Got opinions?

By Jenny Wei

Your opinion counts. Because we’re a public institution with a public mission, you (the public) are critical to our success or failure as a museum.

I spent two hours last week with visitors, testing the design and content of a bookmark we’re creating to promote our online education programs. When museum staff develop exhibitions, they think about visitors too. You often hear people say in meetings: “Trust me, I’ve read the comment cards…” or “I’ve been floating this idea on some list-servs…” And people on our staff take the time to find out what our visitors think by reading blogs, tweets, and newspaper reviews being posted about our museum.

We are listening to you! And we’re glad you’re sharing your thoughts with us (and the world).

So now I’ll offer you another opportunity to share your opinions with us: We’re doing evaluation on our Smithsonian’s History Explorer and OurStory Web sites, intended for teachers of students in all grades and people who care for children in kindergarten through grade four (parents, afterschool care providers, scout leaders). If you’d like to be involved, we’d love to hear from you. Please fill out this form and we’ll be in touch shortly—because your opinions count!

(As always, we encourage you to send us other comments on the Web using our Contact Us form.)

Jenny Wei is an education specialist at the National Museum of American History, and spends too much time working on the education Web sites to evaluate them herself. Help her out!