City officials in Joplin, Missouri, gave initial approval to PGAV Destinations of St. Louis to examine the Joplin History and Mineral Museum and find ways to make it more attractive to potential visitors.
I wouldn’t necessarily say the Joplin Globe newspaper buried the lede, but the very last paragraph of its story stuck out:
Because the museum is located in Schifferdecker Park adjacent to West Seventh Street on the original Route 66 path, it also could be better marketed to attract Route 66 tourists, the mayor said.
Perhaps that wasn’t truly an afterthought by Mayor Doug Lawson, but a great many cities along Route 66 would attest that marketing their attractions to those travelers is crucial.
According to the newspaper, the museum draws 12,000 to 13,000 visitors a year. It is open five days a week.
That means the museum averages about 50 people a day when it is open.
The museum states this about its collections:
In the Dorothea B. Hoover Historical Museum you can explore the life and syles of early Joplinites. You have the opportunity to peer into the lives of Bonnie and Clyde as well as the Route 66 experience. You can also find the Circus room and an entire corner dedicated to the history of cookie cutters.
The Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral Museum is teeming withincredible specimens from local geological finds. Upstairs there is a fully functioning miniature sized model of a mine inside and out.
The first video I found on YouTube about the museum was created by a rockhound:
The museum itself has a YouTube channel, but it has only two videos — both of them archival footage from the 1930s or ’40s.
I confess to never having visited the Joplin History and Mineral Museum, despite my having visited the city dozens of times over the decades. I either forgot it was there, or it simply wasn’t on my to-do list.
I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying that the current marketing efforts of the museum clearly is lacking.
The cost by the St. Louis firm for its study is not to exceed $150,000.
(Image of the Joplin History and Mineral Museum logo via Facebook)