A Taxonomy of Museum Program Opportunities—Adapting a Model from Natural Resource Management

Abstract This paper describes a conceptual framework for the way museum managers might categorize different kinds of program opportunities, both existing and potential. This systematic approach to program planning may be useful to managers in museums seeking to expand their programs' scope and scale. The basis for this concept is borrowed from the outdoor recreation discipline, which sought, in the 1970s, to find a common language to describe supply and demand for recreation opportunities and to understand recreation opportunities in a geographic context of available natural resources. In this paper, the concept is adapted for museums and museum going as a leisure activity. The article first explores the linkages between museum supply and demand as they relate to a larger leisure marketplace. The Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) is then described as it is used for outdoor recreation decision making. Following this practice, museum demand opportunities are defined and elaborated by example, and a “Visitor Opportunity System”—modeled after ROS—is presented. Specific examples are provided for applying this system approach to a variety of museum practices and planning scenarios.