Inadequate Signage at the Wren’s Nest
Saturday August 9th, 2008, 1:47 pm. Phone call:
Guy I’m watching in the parking lot: “Yeah, I’m here in the parking lot. How do I get in?”
Me: “…through the front door.”
You’d think that getting inside the Wren’s Nest would be pretty straight forward. Apparently, it’s not.
Without fail, every day I watch folks pull up in the parking lot, get out of the car, stretch, look confused, and walk to the back door.
(The view from my desk of what may actually be a labyrinth in disguise, judging from reactions.)
How often do you go to a stranger’s house and instinctively head to the back door?
When they get closer, confused visitors see this sign–
–which only sometimes helps. Clearly, this has been a trend for quite some time.
I wonder what kind of sign we’d need to change this behavior. Maybe the design of our parking lot is inherently flawed in that visitors cannot park on the front lawn. Shoot.
Our other signs don’t work very well, either.
Grammatical errors aside, we spend a lot of time responding to visitors’ claims that there’s no sign to show them where we are. Note that there’s another sign just like this on the other side of the road, plus another when you drive east on I-20.
Perhaps reading signs became totally uncool and no one told us.
You’d be surprised how many close calls we’ve had with this one.
Granted, some might interpret that the sign implies this bathroom is for private use, which would sort of make sense that they use it. If they weren’t in a museum, and it wasn’t part of the tour. Sigh.
Suggestions?
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Amber Suitt
Program Director
Lain Shakespeare
Executive Director
10 Comments to Inadequate Signage at the Wren’s Nest
Went to an outdoor wedding at the Goodwood Museum (www.goodwoodmuseum.org) in Tallahassee yesterday. Arrived early, and the signage was minimal, and no one was around, and we had to wander a little.
That’s ok.
Wandering is good for you. Walking around a little is good for you. Not knowing exactly where to go is good for you. Leave extra time for it.
Suggestion: if the Nest knows a bunch of people are coming, and someone is available to stand at the gate and wave and say hello, then post him or her to be a greeter and wave them in.
You seemed to have the right idea at the beginning of the post, with two arrows pointing in different directions.
As far as the toilet is concerned, you should fill the bowl with cement. That is what they have done in the cells at Alcatraz. It might be using a shotgun to kill a fly, but people get the picture pretty quickly.
I would put an arrow pointing to the front door, under the sign saying tours go to the front.
(i would suspect you have folks saying “I don’t want a tour, I just want to see the place”)
Steven, we get that all the time.
We also get people all the time who think it’s free to get in. It’s not! But they’re, like, shocked that we’re not free. Does this happen at Six Flags?
Well to be fair, all you give the person is knowledge and experience, while Six Flags give them all that PLUS thrills and chills.
Hahaha! Well, I like the arrow suggestion. Perhaps there should be a sign just as you enter or in the parking lot with the fees to enter, like a state park does…
As for the toilet…that’s sad. Let’s make it more obvious: “You are in a museum. This toilet is a relic. Do not use. Fine: $1,000. (All proceeds go to the cleaning and renovation of our facilities.)” OR…simply remove the word public…”NOT FOR USE (since 1900?)”
Please note/and forgive: My apparent non-knowledge of the historical timing of the Wren’s Nest occupation.
Julie, I love your “Not For Use Since 1900″ suggestion. Maybe we’ll make one up.
Not sure exactly when that bathroom stopped being used, but as I’ve learned in the house museum business–you can make up most anything and folks’ll believe it. It’s pretty sweet until you get called out! And then it’s no fun, no fun at all.
Am I in bizarro world? Just put “Not For Human Use, Unicorns Only.” Duh.