Special Exhibitions

Who visits special exhibitions and why do they come?

Temporary special exhibitions are an important aspect of the Science Center’s offerings, providing guests the opportunity to see unique artifacts, experience new interactive elements, and explore topics that may not be covered in permanent galleries. They can encourage new visitors to come to the museum or entice past visitors to return. From May 17 to November 3, 2019, the Science Center hosted POMPEII: THE EXHIBITION.

WHO CAME TO POMPEII: THE EXHIBITION?

• Two-thirds (67%) indicated that one of the primary reasons for their visit was to see the special exhibition.

Over two-thirds (68%) visited in adult-only groups.

The vast majority (84%) were repeat visitors to the Science Center, but many of them (62%) had not visited in over a year.

The majority (68%) were from the St. Louis

Metro area.

132,142

Number of guests who visited POMPEII: THE EXHIBITION

WHAT DID THEY HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE?

“This exhibit was amazing! Learning the history of this civilization was fascinating - they were people so ahead of their time - plumbing, restaurants, architecture, and takeout food!!”

“We have been to Pompeii, and loved how the exhibit was organized, the depth of the information shared, and the beauty of the artifacts that we were able to see so close up. Very effective way of displaying the eruption, too.” “Read about Pompeii in the 2 nd grade and found it very interesting and always wanted to go visit. Never did make it. When I heard you [had] artifacts from Pompeii I was so excited and I finally got to see part of Pompeii. I am now 63 years old and still talking about it.” “The Pompeii Exhibit was very informative and interesting. I enjoy exhibits like this because I have no children to bring to the Science Center. Keep bringing these amazing exhibits please.”

HOW DOES DATA INFORM THE SELECTION OF SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS?

Because special exhibitions can help attract both new and repeat audiences, we regularly ask online survey participants what special exhibition topics would make them want to “come to the Science Center.” The four most frequently mentioned topics have consistently been History/Culture, Space, Dinosaurs, and Biology. This data helps inform which traveling shows, like POMPEII: THE EXHIBITION (2019) or Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission (2018), we bring to the Science Center.