On June 30, 2022, regional news broke a story that an arsenal had been discovered at the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada. The police report listed an AK-47 rifle, three handguns, a pistol, ammunition, knives and a taser easily within reach of children, and the stash also included drug paraphernalia like a bong and a used marijuana joint. Additionally, a two-year old child had been found wandering alone outside the museum, near the highway that runs through town. The janitor, husband of the manager of the museum, was considered “highly agitated” and was arrested. Further investigation indicated the family, with five children between them, were living in the museum.

In Plain Sight Marketing received a call from another practitioner who was acquainted with the board president to help with an interview request from a local television station. We worked pro bono with the board throughout the crisis.

Members of the museum’s board of directors were talking with media trying, in their minds, to right the situation. The story went viral, with media hits as far as New York, Toronto and the UK.
In Plain Sight Marketing jumped at the chance to provide consultative services to a treasured community icon.

Following the explosive story of a stash of guns and drugs and children wandering the streets at the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada, members of the museum’s board of directors were repeatedly interviewed by local news media, and the story made national news. Requests for interviews poured into the board. The board was declared guilty by the court of public opinion and the museum closed.

Three of the museum’s board of directors spoke with media. The former manager of the museum, wife of the arrested janitor, spoke in an interview in August 2022 denying the charges against her husband and the claims they were living in the museum. All five of the members of the board were looking to leave the board by October 1, 2022, as their bank had sold to a new bank and all of the museum’s assets would be transferred, costing the museum several hundred dollars to be issued new checks, etc. The museum was dependent on admission fees to sustain the operation and was nearly out of money, due to COVID and the recent closure due to the scandal and the board’s refusal to seek grant funding. Existing members were cancelling or not renewing memberships and new memberships had stalled.

A potential new executive director contacted the museum board, proposing to take over the non-profit, merge it with her own non-profit and change the name of the museum, effectively wiping out the CMNN entity.

Research and planning
Primary research:
1. Surveys: We surveyed museum members, mailing list members, and residents of Carson City to understand their perception of the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada
2. Interviews: We interviewed board members and a director candidate

Secondary research:
1. Existing news stories: We surveyed local, regional and national news stories
2. Reviewed existing children’s museum surveys: Online content review for results papers from other surveys across the U.S.
3. Reviewed financial documents and by-laws for the non-profit overseeing the museum

Research findings:
• The museum was a beloved place in the community to take young children, many respondents expressed their own fond memories of the museum
• Cleanliness was the number one issue people had with the museum, followed by outdated and lack of activities. Lack of safety was low on the list of issues
• The community felt the museum was important to the vibrancy of the city
• People would pay significantly more to visit the museum than was being charged
• Safety ranked low as a problem people saw with the museum

Goal:

Re-establish the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada as a safe and fun place for children to learn while at play, while maintaining the museum’s name and rebuilding its reputation.

Objectives:
1. Gather 100 survey responses by 9/15/22.
2. Decrease negative media attention to zero by November 1, 2022
3. Reopen the museum by November 1, 2022

Timeline: 7/18/22-11/1/22

Key publics: Members and former visitors to the museum; local businesses and organizations who could potentially be supporters of the museum.

Budget: Because we performed this work as pro bono, all budget figures are IPSM’s. Total Budget: Survey platform $20; Staff time for research, planning, implementation and evaluation, meetings, phone calls, media coaching, writing and interviews: 200 hours (our non-profit rate is 65% of our annual contract rate. Total amount is private and not disclosed here.)

Execution
Strategies/Tactics:
1. Issue a statement from the president of the board immediately for the upcoming interview, and also following each additional news story
2. Provide media coaching to board president, establish him as the only
3. Communicate with all members and email list members of the upcoming request for their feedback
4. Conduct a community needs survey to determine the value and perception of the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada
5. Collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations to entice businesses to partner with the museum for new exhibits and safety equipment.
6. Publicize survey results to inform the community that they have been heard and action will be taken as a result of their feedback
7. Leverage the survey results (we heard you – deep cleaning and removal of broken exhibits) to turn the tide of negative media stories to more positive stories about the rebirth of the museum

Evaluation:
Obj. 1: We gathered nearly 400 survey responses.
Obj. 2: Zero negative stories ran following the release of the official on July 18, 2022 and the survey announcement on July 28, 2022. One neutral news story ran on August 24, 2022, following the survey announcement and prior to the release of the survey results on Sept. 9, 2022, with the inclusion of our second statement. The story was an interview with the former manager, wife of the arrested janitor. We responded with a statement, which was published in the story. Several positive news stories ran following our press release announcing the new director and deep cleaning of the facility.
Obj. 3: The museum hosted its soft opening on October 31, 2022, in time for the annual community Trick-or-Treat. The museum has been open Wednesdays-Saturdays since

What else we could do if we had the budget and more time:
1. Focus groups to discuss the myriad feedback from the community to guide programming direction and proposed name change
2. Email campaign for re-opening
3. On-going public relations and marketing services

Side note: While the museum currently maintains its original name and identity, it is unknown the status of the non-profit entity and whether the new director will take over and change the museum to reflect her own non-profit based in Henderson, Nevada, which, based on the survey data, would be a huge loss to the community of Carson City. We would have loved to continue this work on behalf of the museum, but the new director prefers to do all of the fundraising, marketing, exhibits and operations on her own while combining the boards of both entities into one single board. We understand the museum’s board’s relief that the situation is behind them and their eagerness to let the new director run the show.