Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Purpose: Serving as Centers of Community Engagement The Chicago Academy of Sciences will make technology upgrades in the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum that will allow the museum to expand its educational services and build public access to better serve the community. The museum will alter the way it attracts and serves visitors and will integrate all audience information. Specifically, this project will (1) increase the museum's ability to provide outstanding educational programs by allowing educators to register online for professional development and field trip programs, targeting underserved schools; (2) communicate regularly with audiences, thereby increasing public attendance and access; (3) capture visitor information and track museum use to increase its ability to attract visitors, build member and donor bases, and tie programs to community interests; (4) link databases to increase the efficiency of data entry in all areas of museum operations, including report processing, donor/member communication, solicitation, and front desk sales and service; and (5) enable visitors to purchase tickets, register for programs, donate to the museum, and renew memberships online. These enhancements will enable the museum to meet the operating standards of comparable institutions.