Science Museums of the Veneto Region: Educational services and network as strategies to survive together

During the middle of the XX century, a multitude of small museums were founded in Italy to answer the cultural needs of an increasing population. Italy is currently experiencing an economic crisis, and it has an impact on the environment, culture, and education. The crisis also endangers the economic sustainability of museums. Italian Museums have reacted by developing connections with the community, creating museum networks, and improving their services for the public. The purpose of this study was to investigate how Science Museums in the Veneto Region of Northeast Italy have organized their educational services. Museum directors completed a questionnaire concerning educational services and connections they shared with other museums, schools, and other stakeholders. The study also set out to preview some trends about the future, by analysing directors’ proposals and investments for the coming years. The research had a high level of feedback, with ninety percent of a total of 98 museums present in the Veneto region completing the questionnaire. The results show that more than half of the Museums are part of a network and that most of them offer educational activities to visitors. Educational activities are carried out by external practitioners and organizations twice as often as by internal museum staff. Nevertheless, the Museums that externalise educational services jointly design the activities with the practitioners who perform them in fifty percent of the cases. In addition, sometimes the Museums make use of experts, volunteers, guest speakers, testimonials, and artists from the area to enrich their educational activities. Schools groups represent almost three quarters of the museum visitors, and half of the Museums have already arranged partnerships with some local schools. Regarding plans for the next three years, fifty-one museum directors intended to invest in creating connections with the community and designing new exhibitions; forty-nine museums planned to invest in new educational activities. This research illustrates the current regional framework and gives some information about how the Museums are trying to increase their appeal and visibility in the territory. At the moment, many Museums are at risk of being closed, but the current crisis could represent a challenge to do more and do it better, and to try different strategies to survive. We hope most of the museums will be able to face the challenge by reinforcing their educational services and offers.