Return to Nicholas Johnson's Iowa Rain Forest ("Earthpark") Web Site
 
 

[Note: This material is copyright by The Gazette, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of The Gazette.]
   

Trouble in Cedar Rapids

    Whether it is taking a journey through an immigrant’s home, looking a dinosaur in the eye, or seeing ‘‘American Gothic’’ up close, museums create life-changing moments and define what is valuable and true. Perhaps this is why we feel betrayed when a museum in our community fails. We imagine them somehow above real-world concerns, and we take it very personally when one of ‘‘our’’ museums struggles.

    Although millions of us visit museums each year, we generally are not willing to pay the full cost of the experience. Like schools, libraries and parks, museums provide a tangible community benefit and deserve public support. On average, museum income is 30 percent earned, 35 percent private donations and 10 percent endowment interest. The remaining 25 percent comes from public sources.

    Museums in Cedar Rapids (excluding city-run Ushers Ferry) receive from zero to 5 percent public funding. There is room for growth in this area.

Value proposition

    Museums grow out of, and reflect, their communities. They receive support not because of their own needs, or any sense of entitlement, but because they serve the needs of others. Successful museums achieve a return on investment measured in contributions to the health of the community, to its social prosperity.

    Quality of life is one such benefit. Scanning The Gazette, hardly a day passes without a handful of references to museum events: festivals, films, free days, classes, exhibitions, celebrations, readings, lectures, tours, breakfasts, after-school services and music performances. Many are offered free, or at very low cost, to the public.

    Economic development is foremost on the mind of many Corridor residents. The ability to recruit, train and retain quality employees is directly related to the region’s quality of life. Beyond basics such as cost of living, quality of schools, parks and recreation and public safety, we choose where to live based upon the number of interesting and educational leisure-time opportunities a city has to offer.

    And museums are places to learn and to explore big ideas. As the focus of schools turns increasingly to knowledge transmission, museums become an important resource for firsthand experience and exploration. Museums are ideally suited to promote critical thinking, problem solving and imagination, all of which provide a scaffold for learning in other settings. Great ideas do not spring from a textbook or a computer; they are built upon inspirational experiences with objects, phenomena and people, which come together beautifully in museums.

Spilt milk

    Why are museums in Cedar Rapids struggling? Although the financial difficulties of a few museums are in the spotlight, are there systemic issues that might threaten other organizations? And are there lessons we can learn to avoid future missteps?

    In hindsight, it can be said that both The Carl and Mary Koehler History Center and Science Station struggled to manage their expansions. Both museums, through community-led efforts, ran successful campaigns to extend services and build new buildings. As the honeymoon ended and the economy shifted dramatically with the telemarketing and telecommunication crashes, both found themselves with problematic business models and limited resources to adapt. Both have scrambled to restructure, regain community support and return to viability. Despite the natural urge to point fingers, it is more instructive to learn from each situation, guard against similar mistakes, clean up the mess and move on.

Statement about city

    How do we refocus efforts to support our museums’ ongoing operational expenses? In what ways can we collaborate to achieve greater impact and efficiency? Finally, can we pursue new initiatives, such as the exciting Fifteen in 5 efforts, while still supporting past projects, investing in existing capacity as a way to move into the future?

    In the end, the question of whether to help our local museums is based on their perceived value in providing excellent cultural and learning opportunities for ourselves, for our neighbors and for our children.

    We might decide that we don’t need the expense and bother of museums in Cedar Rapids, that we can travel to Waterloo, Dubuque, Davenport and Des Moines — not to mention Chicago, St. Paul, Minn., St. Louis, Kansas City, Mo., or Omaha, Neb. — to experience first-class cultural offerings. Maybe the advantages of Cedar Rapids are that we are a safe place to live within a five-hour drive from some of the best museums in the world.

    Of course, this is overstating the case. We do not want to turn outside the community for things of value, to describe ourselves in terms of what we don’t have: ‘‘Cedar Rapids is nice, but . . .’’ With the current crises in at least two local museums, we have an opportunity to decide what is important to the community. In the way museums reflect and strengthen our values and aspirations, we have a chance to make a statement about what we want for our city.
_______________

    Joe Hastings of Cedar Rapids is executive director of the Science Station.