Podcasts about visitor engagement

Get ready to rock! On this electrifying episode of Jrodconcerts, we've got a very special guest in the house: the one and only Friend of our show Jason Hanley, VP of Education and Visitor Engagement at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Fresh off the heels of the big announcement, Jason joins us to dive deep into the newly unveiled Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2025. We're breaking down the incredible lineup of inductees, from iconic performers like Chubby Checker, Outkast and Soundgarden to the groundbreaking recipients of the Musical Influence Award: Salt-N-Pepa. Join Jrod and Jason as they share their insights, discuss the impact and legacy of these phenomenal artists, and give you the inside scoop on what makes this class so special. Whether you're a die-hard rock fan or just love great music, you won't want to miss this in-depth conversation about the future legends of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction will be live on Saturday, November 8th at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California. The 2025 ceremony will once again stream live on Disney+, with a special airing on ABC at a later date and available on Hulu the next day. ____ Support the Show: DUNKIN': Try Jamie's favorite Butter Pecan Iced Coffee at your local Dunkin'! Order in-store or order ahead of time on the Dunkin' app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Episode Summary: Can fostering curiosity really transform how we learn? Join us as we sit down with Chris McEachron, the Manager of Visitor Engagement at the Kentucky Science Center. We delve into the transformative power of playful learning as Chris takes us on his personal journey from outdoor education for adults to fostering creativity and teamwork in children at the Kentucky Science Center. Chris underscores the importance of hiring passionate educators who ignite curiosity in a wide range of subjects, as well as the crucial role parents and caregivers play in learning through play.Kentucky Science Center is centering play and learning through a wide range of formal and informal experiences, including Science and Play to Go. Chris tells us about the impact of the Pulse of Surgery program, where students live-stream open heart surgeries and interact with medical professionals. We also learn about innovative educational approaches like the Shapes and Stuff Store, and how patience and open-ended questions can support children's natural learning. We also explore connecting STEM to picture books and pop culture as strategies for making learning fun and engaging. Chris also shares his personal love for Minecraft and its educational potential. Tune in to find out how you can visit or follow the Kentucky Science Center to ignite your own playful learning journey.Why You Should Listen:Gain insights into how playful learning can spark curiosity and creativity in children.Learn about cutting-edge educational programs and their real-world impact.Discover practical ways parents and caregivers can support their children's learning.Explore how popular culture can be integrated into educational activities to make learning fun.Hear from a passionate educator about the joys and challenges of engaging young minds.Timestamps:(0:00:03) - Chris McEachron's Journey and Role at Kentucky Science Center(0:06:51) -- Connecting adults and kids through STEM and play(0:10:23) - KY Science Center Programs that Foster Curiosity through Play(0:18:12) - STEM in Storytelling and Pop Culture-themed Camps(0:26:44) - The Joy of Teaching and Learning at the Kentucky Science CenterConnect:Visit the Kentucky Science Center for more information on programs and visiting hours.Support the Show.Read the full show notes, visit the website, and check out my on-demand virtual course. Continue the adventure at LinkedIn or Instagram. *Disclosure: I am a Bookshop.org. affiliate.

"Does it really make any difference if you do believe something, but are at the same time intolerant of someone who does not agree or concur in your beliefs?" Key Moments 01:27  Meeting Freeman Tilden. 09:42 Starting a Career with Park Service at age 58. 11:54 Freeman Reevaluates National Park Service Principles and Writes "Interpreting Our Heritage" at age 71 14:59 Aiming for Visitor Engagement, Not Just Facts .17:00 Becaming a Team for National Park Service 22:58 Lasting Impact of 47 years of Documented Experiences. 26:06 Focusing on Environment, Change, and Tolerance. 27:03 Human Interference with Nature, Moral Poverty, and Creating Positive Experiences 33:03 Presentation about Freeman Tilden at Ranger Rendezvous 47 Resources Ranger Rendezvous Information National Park Service Bio of Freeman Tilden www.parkleaders.com https://parkleaders.com/about/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/theparkleaders/ Interpreting Freeman Tilden In this episode, Walt Dabney returns to share share his extraordinary experience as a student trainee. Walt is the retired director of Texas State Parks and a former National Park Service employee who held various roles during his distinguished career. He even spent an entire year working closely with the legendary Freeman Tilden. Tilden was an author and is known as the Father of Heritage Interpretation. Throughout his career, he wrote works like "Interpreting Our Heritage" and "The World in Debt," and collaborated with notable figures like H. L. Mencken. Imagine traveling 30,000 miles across the United States by car and train, visiting national parks, and engaging with park staff, colleges, and universities—all while being under the mentorship of one of the most influential figures in park interpretation. That's what Walt experienced in 1970. In our conversation, Walt reflects on the invaluable life lessons he learned from Freeman, the lasting friendship they forged, and how Freeman's teachings continue to influence park professionals and leaders to this day. For example, he emphasized the importance of personalized storytelling in park interpretation.  Tilden also believed that the National Park Service played a crucial role in the moral fabric of the country, advocating for self-improvement and quality over materialism. Freeman Tilden's insights go beyond just park interpretation. His guidance on self-change and passion-driven impact remains valuable life advice for us all. Make sure to listen to this episode to learn about the profound impact of Freeman Tilden on park interpretation and learn why his wisdom extends beyond parks to life itself. Thank you to Walt Dabney for taking us on a journey back to those transformative times and sharing insights into your own years interpreting Freeman Tilden.

TAKEAWAYSImportance of understanding the needs and perspectives of the target audience in B2B website designCommon mistakes in website design based on personal preferences rather than the needs of the target audienceProcess of refining problem statements and testing them through outreachFundamentals of B2B websites, including the home page and the "grunt test"Controversial topic of sharing pricing on the websiteDifferent types of website traffic and catering to each effectivelyDesigning websites for businesses with multiple services and departmentsComparison between websites and landing pages for specific offers and low-ticket itemsCreating a feedback loop to inform sales calls and improve marketing strategyImportance of continuous evaluation and improvement to ensure the website meets the needs of the target audience  TIMESTAMPSThe importance of understanding the target audience (00:00:00) Sam Dunning discusses the need to understand the needs and perspectives of the target audience when designing a B2B website.Sam Dunning's background and career trajectory (00:02:56) Sam Dunning shares his background and career trajectory, including his experience in retail, web agency, and marketing.The impact of ego on website performance (00:09:40) Dunning emphasizes the negative impact of ego on website performance and the need to focus on the target audience instead of personal preferences.Customer research for effective website design (00:15:35) Dunning highlights the importance of customer research for creating website content and messaging that resonates with the target audience.Challenges in customer research (00:19:18) Discussion about the challenges of customer research, including bias and the need to dig deep to understand the root of the problems faced by the target audience.Customer Research and Testing (00:22:17) Sam discusses the importance of customer research and testing problem statements with target clients to refine assumptions.Understanding the Target Audience (00:23:56) Sam shares his experience of understanding the needs of the target market and the importance of resonating with potential clients.Website Design and Messaging (00:25:37) Sam emphasizes the importance of understanding and resonating with the audience compared to making oneself sound impressive.Fundamentals of B2B Websites (00:26:06) Sam discusses the importance of research and the home page, including the "grunt test" for clarity and the impact of page speed.Pricing and Social Proof (00:29:45) Sam discusses the controversy of sharing pricing on the website and the value of social proof in building trust.Visitor Engagement on Websites (00:32:14) Sam explains the differences in visitor engagement between warm prospects and cold traffic and the need for a good first impression.Complex Businesses and Website Design (00:35:12) Sam discusses the complexity of website design for businesses with multiple services and personas, emphasizing the need for thorough research and planning.Websites vs. Landing Pages (00:39:31) Sam explains the differences between websites and landing pages, highlighting the role of landing pages for specific offers and the complexity of high-ticket sales.Customer Journey and Attribution (00:42:07) The discussion delves into the complexity of the customer journey in B2B marketing and the challenge of attributing sales to specific marketing efforts.Understanding Customer Needs (00:43:29) The importance of gathering feedback and data from various channels to understand the messy buying journey.Maximizing Website Potential (00:43:59) Emphasizing the critical role of a well-researched, designed, and updated website in maximizing sales potential and avoiding missed opportunities.Connecting and Learning More (00:45:12) Sam Dunning's invitation to connect on LinkedIn, listen to his podcast, and seek assistance for improving website performance.Closing Remarks and Contact Information (00:45:49) Expressing gratitude for the conversation and providing contact information for further discussions and partnerships. If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, join Ryan's newsletter https://ryanalford.com/newsletter/ to get Ferrari level advice daily for FREE. Learn how to build a 7 figure business from your personal brand by signing up for a FREE introduction to personal branding https://ryanalford.com/personalbranding. Learn more by visiting our website at www.ryanisright.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/@RightAboutNowwithRyanAlford.

Broadcasting live from the Immigration Museum in Melbourne, Sunday Arts Magazine proudly welcomes award-winning Anthony McAleer.  Anthony is the Team Leader of the Visitor Engagement team at the museum, and... LEARN MORE The post Sunday Arts Magazine: Anthony McAleer(brroadcast live from the Immigration Museum) appeared first on Sunday Arts Magazine.

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We welcome a Friend of the show, Jason Hanley Vice President of Education and Visitor Engagement at the Rock Hall to analyze Nominees for 2024 Induction. The 2024 Nominees are: Mary J. Blige Mariah Carey Cher Dave Matthews Band Eric B. & Rakim Foreigner Peter Frampton Jane's Addiction Kool & the Gang Lenny Kravitz Oasis Sinéad O'Connor Ozzy Osbourne Sade A Tribe Called Quest The 2024 ceremony will once again stream live on Disney+ with a special airing on ABC at a later date and available on Hulu the next day. The 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony streamed live on Disney+ for the first time ever; the special on ABC reached over 13 million viewers across linear and streaming, and ABC's New Year's Day telecast was the No. 1 entertainment choice among Adults18-49. To be eligible for nomination, an individual artist or band must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. Ten out of 15 of the Nominees are on the ballot for the first time, including Mariah Carey, Cher, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, Sinéad O'Connor, Ozzy Osbourne and Sade

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Today, I'm joined by Rachel Nicholson (Director, Visitor Engagement & Research at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) and Christine Murray (Head of Content at Art Processors) to discuss an art experience that revolutionises the way visitors interact with Impressionist art. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has collaborated with Art Processors to bring to life "A Beautiful Disruption: Experiencing the Bloch Galleries," a sensorial digital journey that forges personal connections with Impressionist masterpieces and their creators. This innovative encounter leverages existing gallery technology to lead visitors through a hands-free, 'eyes-up' experience, guided by dynamic lighting and immersive audio cues. It blends technology, storytelling, and sensory elements, creating deeper engagement with Impressionist art and, at the same time, disrupting the conventional museum experience.This immersive experience encourages visitors to actively explore and engage with the art, allowing them to choose their own path and connect with paintings that resonate with them personally. This innovative approach creates a communal and social experience, transforming the way visitors interact with and appreciate art within the gallery setting.LinksNelson-Atkins website pageRachel Nicholson LinkedInArt Processors Christine Murray Linked InRediscovering joy and human connection with the ImpressionistsChristine's recent documentary “Feelings Are Facts”

What if the best way to market an exhibition — wasn't marketing?What do we need to do better to help visitors find us in the first place? When they do, how do we engage them? When visitors arrive at our institutions, do they know where to go? What happens to the visitor's experience when we haven't thought enough about the restrooms, the stairs, or the endless line to get something to eat? Why do cultural institutions struggle with following up with visitors after they visit?Visitor experience expert Samir Bitar (The Art of Consulting) joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to discuss The Visitor Engagement Lifecycle. Along the way: empathy training, why our technology ideas might not be what our visitors want, and how every project could use a visitors' advocate. (And the answer to that question about marketing.) Talking Points: Five main phases occur, spread along a journey before, during and after a visit.  For a visual, think of these phases arranged along a circle, not a straight line.  Phase 5 leads back to Phase 1, in a continuous cycle. Pre-Visit:1. Discover: Visitor is gathering information.2. Engage: Visitor is actively planning a visit, getting tickets, calling ahead. During Visit:3. Arrive: Visitor arrives on site, looking for orientation and direction.4. Experience: Visitor does the experience, uses amenities, makes purchases. Post-Visit:5. Followup: Visitor signs up for emails, gives feedback, becomes a member. Phase 5 now leads back to Phase 1. Guest Bio: Samir Bitar is a customer experience advisor, lecturer, and keynote speaker who helps organizations focus on the experiences of the people they serve. As the inaugural Director of Visitor Experience for the Smithsonian Institution he led a revitalization of the visitor experience across galleries, museums, and a zoo. In doing so, he helped transform an organization's relationship with its visitors. During his tenure, Samir pioneered the use of visitor journey mapping in museum planning and design, published a watershed study of visitors' museum experience, and produced the award-winning Hirshhorn Eye mobile app. In 2018, Samir stepped down from his position to open the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, and in 2019, founded The Art of Consulting. Through his firm, Samir works with organizations to embed new capacities that lead to a customer experience transformation.About:Making the Museum is hosted (podcast) and written (newsletter) by Jonathan Alger. This podcast is a project of C&G Partners | Design for Culture. Learn about the firm's creative work at: http://www.cgpartnersllc.comShow Links:Samir's Website:http://theartofconsulting.orgSamir's Email:samir@theartofconsulting.orgShow Contact:https://www.makingthemuseum.com/contacthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanalgeralger@cgpartnersllc.comhttps://www.cgpartnersllc.com  Newsletter:Like the episode? Subscribe to the newsletter! (It's the best way to know when a new podcast episode goes live.) Making the Museum is also a very short daily newsletter on exhibition planning for museum leaders, exhibition teams and visitor experience professionals. Subscribe here:www.makingthemuseum.com

In today's digital age, having a website is crucial for businesses of all sizes. However, you need to ensure that your website is engaging and compelling enough to keep visitors on your website long enough for them to understand your business value proposition and take some form of action. In this episode of the Tech With Heart Show, you will learn some top website engagement tips from digital marketing expert, Arba Cooper.https://www.digitaltechnologist.net/Get The Web Design Best Practices Ebook https://www.websiteconversion.net/10-web-design-best-practiceshttps://www.facebook.com/diymarketingbizhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/arba-cooper/https://www.instagram.com/visiondoers/revealio.com

In this episode we hear from Jaon Hanley, Ph.D., Vice President of Education and Visitor Engagement at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Jason describes the many programs, spaces, and performances that comprise the Rock Hall, highlighting the interactive nature of visiting the Rock Hall. He encourages families to listen deeply to music - for enjoyment, for expression, for learning, and for understanding. His book, We Rock! (Music Lab): A Fun Family Guide for Exploring Rock Music History provides a step-by-step guide for families to do just this. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Free online education resource for teachers and families through Rock Hall EDU Dr. Hanley's, book, We Rock! (Music Lab): A Fun Family Guide for Exploring Rock Music History Dr. Lisa Huisman Koops's book, Parenting Musically Dr. Koops's Family Musicking Framework (see p. 12 in preview)

We are joined by friend of the show Jason Hanley, Vice President of Education and Visitor Engagement at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to preview the first annual “ROCK THE RYMAN” concert scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT, on Wednesday, March 1 at the historic Ryman Auditorium. The concert, will feature some of Nashville's most intriguing artists and special guests and celebrates the intersection of rock & roll and country. This will be a this very special night of music that will honor the legacy and impact of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees who have graced the Ryman stage. Among the performers, we have our friends and 2022 Americana Honors Duo or Group of the Year The War and Treaty; multi-platinum, Grammy nominee Gavin DeGraw; groundbreaking country duo Maddie & Tae noted guitarist/songwriter Charlie Worsham and many more. Tickets still available at ryman.com. Proceeds from the event will help preserve and celebrate the history of rock & roll at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Ryman Auditorium. More information about the Rock The Ryman concert, Rock Hall at the Ryman exhibit, daytime tours and shows can be found at ryman.com.

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is  Kelly Molson, Founder of Rubber Cheese.Download the Rubber Cheese 2022 Visitor Attraction Website Report - the first digital benchmark statistics for the attractions sector.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcastCompetition ends July 31st 2023. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references: www.matthewhenderson.netCreative Ideas and Solutions. Innovative consultancy and support for visitor attractions, specialising in commercial and  product development. https://www.beamish.org.uk/https://culturalenterprises.org.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendersonmatthew94/ Matthew Henderson is well known across the sector, having won many awards for his creative approach to retail and product development, and is a Trustee of the Association for Cultural Enterprises.Having increased sales and developed commercial activity as Head of Commercial Operations and Development at Beamish, The Living Museum of the North, Matthew has been inspired to launch Creative Ideas and Solutions. The aim of which is to support other organisations in enhancing their visitor engagement, commercial strategy and product development. Transcriptions: Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. In today's episode, I speak with Matthew Henderson, founder of Matthew Henderson Creative Ideas and Solutions. Matt was previously Head of Commercial Operations and Development at Beamish Living Museum, where an abundance of innovative ideas drove their commercial income. We talk a lot about product development and how to develop commercial products and experiences that truly reflect your organisation. If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on itunes, Spotify and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue. Kelly Molson: Matthew, it is absolutely brilliant to have you on the podcast today. I'm just going to tell you, you have been, like, one of the most recommended people to me ever to come on.Matthew Henderson: Really? Kelly Molson: There are so many people, “You've got to get Matthew on. You need to get Matthew on to chat to” and finally, we are here. Matthew Henderson: Well, thank you so much. That's an amazing thing to hear, but, yeah, thank you for inviting me on. It's a real honour to be on it. Kelly Molson: Well, shuffed. It's going to be good. Okay. Right, I've got some ice breakers for you. I want to know what is your favourite crisp flavour?Matthew Henderson: Favourite crisp changes rigged, but at the moment it's probably squares just for how vinegary they are. Kelly Molson: Oh, the sort of vinegar ones? Yeah. Matthew Henderson: I would go with them, but occasionally a knickknack I would go for as well, which is quite a controversial opinion. Kelly Molson: Spicy knickknack. Did they used to do like a hang on, they did like a fishy one, didn't they? Matthew Henderson: Yeah, I wouldn't go near that, but, yeah, the spicy one, yeah. Normally I'm a chicken corner kind of guy, but I can handle a knickknack spice.Kelly Molson:  Spicy knickknacks. I'm with you on that one. That is a good solid, crisp flavour. Right, good. Okay, if you had your human body but the head of animal, what animal would you choose? Matthew Henderson: Strangely, I actually do have a pet owl, so I feel like just to keep on theme yeah, probably an owl. I think their school is taken up by three quarters. Their school is hitting up by their eyes. Their brain is very small, so maybe I'll retract that. But wise old owl is quite a myth. But they are sort of very attractive, aren't they? Kelly Molson: They are. Wow. Oh, God. So many questions. You've got a pet owl, you're like Harry Potter. This is incredible. How have you got a pet owl? Matthew Henderson: Well, yeah, it's sort of a bit more run Weasy than Harry Potter would say. Growing up, I used to help my grandma nature reserve and every weekend she used to take me to there on the Saturday and then the Budapest Centre on the Sunday. It was just the sort of thing that we always did and I ended up volunteering there and fell in love with it. And then I had this little owl, who, when he came in, was written off that he would die overnight. It was so unwell. And I think a cat tried to eat him. All this sort of tragic story. And then every day he got a bit stronger, to the point where he used to come home with me every night. We've got a tesco together because you couldn't leave. It was kind of in my hoodie pocket. Matthew Henderson: And then when I sort of stopped volunteering there and got a job, he would have died of heartbreak, really. And I think so died by that point. So 14 years on, he still lives with me. Probably the funniest thing that's ever happened with Bug is when everyone did Zoom quizzes during lockdown. Kelly Molson: Yeah. Matthew Henderson: And my friend works for Capital FM and Bug the Owl just happened to be in the background while were playing this quiz. And my friend from there was on, to which he told Roman Kemp the next day about Bug the Owl at work, to which Roman Kemp and FaceTimed me the next day to see Bug the owl. And then me and Bug coal hosted capitol breakfast for 20 minutes one morning, you think lockdown life couldn't get any stranger. And then you describe what an owl looks like on Capital FM. Kelly Molson: This question has gone to a place that I would never expect him to go to. Oh, my God. Matthew Henderson: We could get him at the end. Kelly Molson: Oh, my God. Please, I would love to meet Bug. And also, my heart has just melted massively from that story. Matthew Henderson: Yeah. I love him.Kelly Molson: Absolutely incredible. Matthew Henderson: My friends always say that I should do TikToks with them because I have a dog as well, and the owl will sit on the dog's head and groom and they'll play together. And I think if I had more time, they'd probably be a TikTok account for them. Kelly Molson: You have to make that. I would download TikTok just for that. Just for you, and Bug and your dog. Oh, my God. Honestly, Matt wasn't expecting that response. That's got me all the feels. Matthew Henderson: On the random way, I think I would have an owl's head as a head and a human body. Kelly Molson: An excellent reason why. Well, this is random. My next question was, have you ever met a famous person and lost a tiny mind a little bit, but I don't know if Roman Kemp is enough to make you lose your mind. Matthew Henderson:  Yeah, I think I actually met Russell Brand. This is another sort of bizarre lockdown story, just as it happens, but I went to his gig, he did an outdoor, socially distanced gig and then at the end he walked past and I got a selfie with him, to which I just put it on Instagram. We haven't broken any rules. It was all fine. And the Daily Mail lifted that photograph and ran it on the front page of their website with a story around Russell Brand refusing to social distance, which wasn't true. But, yeah, he ended up on Hollywood Reports and all sorts of zoom called with him afterwards to talk about it, and he absolutely loved it. But, yeah, meeting him was amazing. And then my ultimate hero is Mike Skinner from the Streets. Matthew Henderson: I have his lyrics tattooed, and that probably the only time in life I've been absolutely speechless. I just could not say a word when I met him. And he was very nice and very polite. But, yeah, meeting him was pretty amazing. Kelly Molson: Oh, my God, Matt, I want your life. Matthew Henderson: We might go downhill from there. I think they're only sort of two impressive odd stories. Kelly Molson: They're probably the best answers to any icebreaker questions I've ever asked. Matthew Henderson: It's quite nice because they don't naturally come up in conversation, either of those points. But maybe that's the art of icebreaking. Kelly Molson: Absolutely. Totally fascinating. Right, well, I don't know where this is going to go, but what's your unpopular opinion?Matthew Henderson: My unpopular opinion is that I've never had tea or coffee and I have no desire to. Kelly Molson: You've never had a brew? You've never had a cup of tea? Matthew Henderson: Never had one. Yeah. Shocking. And I actually went on a half day course about coffee once I've smelled this and learned all about it, but it's not for me. Kelly Molson: I think the coffee one I can get. I think that there's probably quite a few people that because tea and coffee are very different and I can understand that. But to never even have tried a little sip of tea?Matthew Henderson: Yeah, nobody's ever really that impressed with it. Yeah, maybe it's TikTok and tea this year, maybe that's the aim.Kelly Molson: 2023, we're coming at you. Matthew Henderson: About two or three years ago, I tried to grip for the first time, much to all my friends amusement. And I remember afterwards my friend Ben, who's a very loud lad, and he took me one side and said, “I'm so proud of you for trying that, man”. So I just loved, like, how genuine he was. Kelly Molson: Matt, it's already my favourite podcast. Sorry, everyone, Matt's got me in tears here. All right. Okay, let's start where it all began, shall we? Let's talk about Beamish. So you were there for ten years and you started out as a costume demonstrator? Matthew Henderson: Yeah, that's right. Kelly Molson: And then your path went further and further and further in. Matthew Henderson: Yeah, it was the best thing ever did. So, like I sort of mentioned, my grandma used to run a nature reserve, a little small cafe and gift shop, and she would let me organise the Christmas tree fairs when I was little. And sometimes I do little markets and fundraisers and stuff. So I think, looking back, I was always sort of destined for a career in tourism from that, because my mom always laughed that I was more excited about seeing the gift shop than I was the attraction a lot of time. When you look back, it's so obvious, really, but from there I started volunteering at the Falconry Centre, which is obviously where Bug the Owl came from, and got really interested in the sort of business side of it and the customer service side.  Matthew Henderson: And I was studying business at college, a six month college, and they said to me, "why didn't you go and try somewhere else on work experience?" And I was like, "no, I'm going to work at the Falconry Centre. That's my sort of thing I'm going to do". And they were like, "Why didn't you just go for four half days, like four afternoons to Beamish, which was about 20 minutes up the road, and just see what it's like?" And instantly, within about an hour of being there, I realised it was the people that I loved working with. And for all I loved the animal side, that it was that tourism, that business, that people and that culture that I loved. Matthew Henderson: And then, yeah, from there, I think it's sort of seven different jobs, but progressed from work experience to being a volunteer to then a costume demonstrator, and that's how it kind of started. Kelly Molson: Amazing. So many people start their career at one level in an attraction and just work and that's what happened, isn't it? So ultimately, you ended up as head of commercial operations. Matthew Henderson: Yeah, several different jobs, and was really fortunate with my time at Beamish that I did an apprenticeship, which I'm really sort of proud to have come from a non traditional route into the sector and then did an assistant role and an officer role and started did a maternity cover. And all these sort of real brilliant opportunities from Beamish led to that head of commercial role, which was final role at the museum. Kelly Molson: Yeah. So Beamish, to give context to people that haven't been to Beamish, and don't understand what it is. It's a living museum, isn't it? And you've kind of got like little mini attractions within this attraction itself. It's absolutely incredible. Matthew Henderson: Yeah, definitely. It's a living museum. It's around 400 acres in size and Beamish tells a story of everyday life in the Northeast in various different time periods. But the majority of the buildings have been moved brick by brick or stone by stone and recreated. So the buildings themselves are as much as part of the museum and the museum's collection as the object inside it. But they use everyday objects to tell the story of life in the Northeast. So rather than having it in a glass case and obviously there's a need to protect some object in the museum's collection and stores, sometimes it's replica. But the majority of real collections that have been really used, whether that's a teapot or a post tube or how can that history be brought to life? So, yeah, there's some amazing museum living museums around the world. Matthew Henderson: I think Beamish is one of the standouts, really.Kelly Molson: Yeah. I think the term immersive is being thrown around, like, a bit willy nilly at the moment. But for me, that is a really immersive museum experience, isn't it? Because when you go, people are in traditional costume and you can go and see things being made. Like, Matt very kindly people that are listening that won't be able to see this, but Matt very kindly sent me some sweets in the post from Beamish, which I'll just show on camera here. And the sweets get handmade in the shop and you can go and see that happening. And using all the traditional methods, So it is a fantastically kind of immersive museum experience that you can get involved in. So everything's going swim and knee and then all of a sudden there's a global pandemic. Life takes a bit of a turn, doesn't it?Matthew Henderson: Yeah, definitely. So I was working on product development at Beamish at the time, so we've been doing a lot of really exciting work about how could we use the museum's collections to create products that truly reflected that experience. And Beamish is a dream for that kind of thing, because, like you say, there's so many sort of hands on opportunities and there's so many stories to be told. And I think one of my favourite things about working in Beamish was that you have these pockets of specialism right around the museum. So you could go and have a conversation with the curator of transport and learn the intricacies of sort of steam and charms and buses and then try and come up with product from that. Or you could go and speak to the garden team or the horse team. Matthew Henderson: So were making all this sort of exciting product and then, yeah, the museum was on the rise. Visitor numbers have been going up, income had been going up, and then, yeah, the gates were shut and 95% of the income comes from visitors. And suddenly there was a need to try and diversify and to engage that audience, which is where some of the sort of work that we did during lockdown came from. Kelly Molson: And some of the things that you did are absolutely brilliant. So I saw you speak at the Museum and Heritage Awards last year and you shared some of the things that you did during lockdown that helped to drive revenue and they're so good. Some of the examples that you shared are just so creative and so genius. Can you tell us a little bit about some of them? Matthew Henderson: Yeah, so the first thing we did was set up an online shop. So the idea being that we didn't want it to feel like a traditional online shop, we wanted it to reflect the museum experience, where you can go into the sweet shop and buy sweets, you can go into the cooperative store and buy biscuits, you can go into the various different sort of exhibits and participate. Like the chemist, for instance, has a cold cream that's a recipe from 100 years ago. So we set up that online shop and literally between a very small team of used our existing ticketing platform. And it was a little bit like an episode of The Apprentice, really. There was like no budget, there's a half a platform there for us to use and how could you turn this around? Matthew Henderson: And I think because everyone at Beamish had such passion for it. It was a very concerning time, but also a very exciting time, thinking that we could try and drive some income. And we started seeing support from around the world. People were ordering these sort of tins of sweets and all this sort of product development work that we'd been doing. It was actually perfectly aligned that we had these unique products that could be sold. And then we started to think, well, how else could we use online? So the Head of Learning, Simon Woolley, who's a brilliant person, he started doing school lessons. So he would do murder mysteries online and Victorian school lessons for schools around the world. Me and him said, “there surely must be an opportunity for home schoolers here”. Matthew Henderson: So we started putting Victorian lessons on for home schoolers where they could order a slate and pencil in the post from the online shop and then Simon would essentially sort of scare them for an hour at the Victorian Headmaster. And the day was basically with the parents that we look after your kids for an hour, you have an hour off and they can participate in this living museum. Then we did things like afternoon tea deliveries. So we have famous of amazing bakers. They came to the museum and created these unbelievable afternoon teas along with tea and coffee that were sourced from local supplies and branded as Beamish specific blends for them. And we sent out costume staff to deliver them. Matthew Henderson: So you could only order them, you could order them from around the world, but they would only be delivered in the Northeast because we wanted to deliver them by hand, safely, but in full costume. And I remember a quote that came from Jeff, who was one of the costume team that was delivering them and he said, "people ordered them from as far and wide to the nearest and dearest, the United States, Australia and Europe. And occasionally there were real tears of gratitude from the receiver where it felt a privilege to be bringing a ray of happiness to someone." And that sums it up for me, really. Kelly Molson: That is incredible, isn't it? Matthew Henderson: Because it wasn't only about generating income, it was about keeping connected with that community. And 50% of Beamish's audience is local, so being able to sort of literally go to the doorstep of 1200 people, which is like the equivalent of visiting every family that came on a bank holiday. If you think in terms of scale of two or three drivers out there for a few weeks delivering them and that was a really special thing. And then I think probably we still we started wholesale ventures, we started selling to the likes of Fenix and farm shops when retail shops could be opened. But museums and visit attractions weren't just a diversified income and that was like, again, about generating income, but also that connection with people. Matthew Henderson: And it was really exciting for those shops when Beamish returned up in full costumes with these handmade sweets and keeping that name out there, that sort of museum alive. But I think for me the most special thing was were faced with the prospect that maybe Father Christmas has grown, wouldn't go ahead and how could we do an online offer of that was the challenge put forward. So we did for 13 hours a day, we did zoom calls with Father Christmas around sort of well over 1000 children took part in that.  And every ten minutes, Father Christmas would call a different family and would have these absolutely amazing moments where grandparents would join in the call and seeing their children engage, their grandchildren engage with Father Christmas. Matthew Henderson: And you would see parents, grandparents just in floods of tears saying these really special moments because we could collect information in advance that Father Christmas could use to make it even more special. And really did sort of bring the magic. So that was me and Father Christmas and a small team for sort of hours a day and it was just a really special way of connecting with our audience. Kelly Molson: There's so many different ideas there as well, Matthew. I mean, obviously you've got your team around you as well. How did you go about working out what you were going to do? Because I can imagine that there were more ideas that actually didn't happen as well. Right, so how did you work out that process of going, yeah, that's the one, we can run with that. No, these ones, they're just not going to work for us. Matthew Henderson: I think essentially there's a little bit of looking at the resource that was available and the sort of finances behind it. If it was a nice thing to do, was it at least going to sort of generate a small income and then what were the things that were going to really drive income from the museum? And Rhiannon Hiles is the CEO of Beamish, was incredibly supportive as she was sort of leading the museum and me and her would have these conversations where one of us would come up with an idea. And the Father Christmas thing actually started out it was going to be pre recorded videos and it was her that said, “no, this needs to feel exactly like the experience of the museum. We need to create that magic”. Matthew Henderson: So, yeah, just really great support from her, really great team that were willing to give everything a go and it was just a real chance to bring commercials to the front of everything the museum was doing. And I think from there we really did connect with that audience. I remember one of the Father Christmas calls, a parent had written that a child no longer believed in Father Christmas because the last time they saw him was in America, and he has an American accent. And our Father Christmas, luckily, could speak different languages. So straight away he said, "loving to meet you". If it was Bethany, he said, "Love it to meet you, Bethany. I saw you last time in Florida, didn't I?" And you could see a little bit of magic. Matthew Henderson: He said, “the thing is, wherever I go, I change my accent, I change the language, like when I go to France”. And then spoke in fluent French, and you could see this kind of like moment where the magic was just literally back in that house. It's like on a film where you sort of see the sort of stars coming back in and it's back to life, and you could see the joy in her parents face. And you think, if we hadn't been allowed to do those calls, what would that magic have been for her in these horrible circumstances? Equally, on the flip side, our Father Christmas only really knew French and English. Matthew Henderson: We were hoping there's not going to any last minute request as we kind of moved on the conversation. Kelly Molson: So you saw magic in one window and sweat in another window.Matthew Henderson: Behind the zoom screen. Yeah. Father Christmas sometimes had a little auto queue that I could give him prompts on, and we had a great time doing those things. Kelly Molson: It's incredible to go to that level of detail as well. To be able to put that magic back is absolutely phenomenal. What you mentioned, you said that everyone was willing to give it a go, and I think that's something that's really important to talk about because there was a level of like during the pandemic, well, let's just try it, right? What can we do? Can't do anything worse than actually is what's happening, right? So let's just give it a go. So people were quite brave in some of the things that they were doing. Do you think that's got lost a little bit now? Do you think people are a bit more cautious about what they're doing? Matthew Henderson: I think there's definitely a thing where the day to day takes over again, and I think there's a real opportunity to look at sort of strategy and given the opportunity for teams to come up with ideas, creative ideas, and then allowing them to happen, I think, with Beamish, I'm not certain we would have made an online shop within the last few years because you managing multiple different exhibits, outlets, operations, and it was never sort of creeping to the top of the priorities list.  So I think the pandemic offered an opportunity to really question what you were doing and like, I said, give things a go. And Beamish has certainly carried on that sort of innovation with Rhiannon Hiles, CEO, I'm sure that will continue.Matthew Henderson: But, yeah, I think there is perhaps a thing where the day to day takes over and I think it's maybe coming together through things like the podcast that you do and the work at  Association for Cultural Enterprise does and Museum and Heritage Show and hearing those inspirational stories. And I think we've all got those moments where you sit and hear somebody speak and then you just can't wait to get back to where you work to try and sort of pivot from that point, really. Kelly Molson: Yeah. It's the same with me, to be honest. I went on a new business and marketing workshop last week and came out of that completely and utterly inspired by the people that were delivering the course, by the people that were on the course with me as well. And now we're kind of back in the day to day doing. You have to really be careful to make sure that you carve out the time to do those things, don't you? You have to give time for innovation, you have to give time to be creative because you need the headspace to be able to actually do it, don't you?  Matthew Henderson: Definitely. And I think if you're working in a visit attraction, there's a lot to be said around the fact that it is a joy to work in these places, because the whole purpose of them is to bring joy to people. So for me, it's often about sort of standing and looking at the attraction, walking through it when it's busy, sort of hearing those conversations, working front of house. And then I always find that at the moment when you realise, for me, I started as a costume demonstrator and that was the thing that I loved. Every time you got the opportunity to work with the visitors, to work with those people, it reignited that passion of, this is why we're here. So for all in management, you might sort of step further away and you might be more in sort of meetings and the like. Matthew Henderson: I think it's about still being connected and realising why we're all in this industry. Kelly Molson: Yeah. Off podcast earlier, when Matthew and I were chatting, we actually had a conversation about how our earliest memories are from attractions, aren't they? They're from places that we've been to, so I can remember one of my earliest memories is feeding the ducks, a place called Forty Hall in Enfield. It's a lovely heritage home. It's got beautiful grounds. It was really close to where my nan and granddad lived, so we used to always visit my nan and grandad and then go there afterwards. And it's one of my earliest memories of really happy times. And it's a visitor attraction, so we have to remember the impact that we're having on people from a really young age. And that's a huge responsibility and also something wonderful to be part of. Matthew Henderson: Yeah, completely. I went to Sovereign Hill in Australia, which is a living museum, a few years ago, and one of their directors said to me, "it's an honour to bring joy to millions of people". And often you might see that joy firsthand, but then it's like you say, you would never really know the impact of that work. You would never know that people like you and me are talking about feeding the ducks all them years later. And I think it's every time you get an opportunity to create something or to work with someone, it's about making it the most special thing and that's how you get that legacy. Matthew Henderson: And I think for Beamish in particular, the people of the Northeast have a real love for it because everybody has a connection to it, whether they donate as an object, whether they know somebody that used to live in one of the houses before it was moved, whether they went there on a school trip. And I think it's about working with all those generations. And I love the idea that we might create retail products and you don't really know where in the world they end up or who's going to treasure them. And it's a real honour and I think you have to keep remembering that, especially when sort of day to day work maybe sort of takes over or feels a little heavy. Kelly Molson: Yeah. So you've moved on from Beamish now. Let's talk a little bit about some of the things you're doing. I'm a recent Trustee of the Museum of the Broads, which is quite a big responsibility, actually, and I'm really enjoying it, but it's all quite new for me. But you've been a trustee for quite a while, haven't you, for the Association for Cultural Enterprises? Matthew Henderson: Yeah. So off the back of the work that Beamish did during lockdown, I've got the opportunity to speak at the Cultural Enterprise Conference and then met some of the team there and had kept in touch with Jill, who's the brilliant CEO. And then yeah, the advert went out that they were looking for trustees and it was one of those things I spoke to Rhiannon at Beamish and sort of said, "do you think you would apply for this?" And she was saying, "Well, I think you should." And it said, "Why didn't you give this a go?" And I think that's what I was really asking was, "should I give this a go?" So I applied and interviewed and, yeah, it's been one of the best things ever done, connecting with the work of the association, but also the other board members. Matthew Henderson: So sitting on a board for me, like some of my sort of industry heroes, really, and getting to hear them speak. And sometimes I'll be in these board meetings and I'll realise I haven't spoken in a little while because you're so busy listening to them and you kind of forget that you're part of it, really.  So, yeah, they've been really welcoming to me and been a big part in the decision to give this new venture a go. Kelly Molson: Yeah. So this is exciting. So I am going to guess that everyone that you've been speaking to there has been really supportive of this. But you have jumped in with 2ft and you've set up a new consultancy. Tell us a little bit about it. Matthew Henderson: So where it came from was, through the work that I've been doing and the work for the Association for Cultural Enterprise, people had been very kind in the sort of words that they were saying about some of the work we've done. And then often I was visiting other attractions or meeting them and helping to come up with creative ideas. So the new sort of venture is allowing that to be a full time thing for me so that I can offer more support to these organisations, whether that's on product development, whether that's on community co production, creative strategy. So, yeah, it's a very new thing, but really exciting. And like we sort of said at the start, I think from that moment of helping my grandma at the nature reserve, you kind of look back and it was always meant to be that you would work in tourism and then this path has come quite naturally, really. Kelly Molson: It's really exciting. And congratulations on getting set up and taking the big leap into doing it for yourself. How do you start this process with an attraction? Because I guess just thinking about what you've been through at Beamish, I mean, it was perfectly set for all of the things that you did. You've got this amazing heritage there, you've got these artefacts that you can take design elements from for packaging and everything kind of came together so beautifully. How do you start to look at that, doing those things in a different organisation? Matthew Henderson: So I think if it's a product development, there's a lot to be said around, hopefully getting to know the team that are working in the shop. They'll know what sells well and what doesn't, and if they have any data to sort of back that up. But a lot of the time, those informal conversations of, "I wish we had a magnet wave exxon”, or speaking to the front of house teams of what are the things that the visitors find emotive, what do they laugh at? What do they cry at? What do they take a photograph of? And then, how can we draw inspiration from that to create product ranges? And that's a lovely challenge and it takes working with the team, I think, because it's a new venture. Matthew Henderson: One of the things I'm really keen on is that the support isn't a standard package, so depending on the attraction, I can sort of flex up, flex down and take different approaches, but very much about putting those people at the heart. It's not a consultant coming in to say this is how you should be doing it's more about allowing them to discover this is the different way you can do it. And we don't all have to have the same I keep using magnets, but magnets or food and what are the opportunities to support local, to create different things to be sustainable in terms of packaging and environmental impact? So, yeah, really exciting. But it's about putting those people at the heart of it all, I think.Kelly Molson: Because we talk quite a lot, don't we? About having things that are niche, like products and things on your shelves that you can only get at that attraction.  Not just the blanket. Everybody's got these things. It's just another thing with the logo on it. And I think there's also a big part about at the moment especially, where we still don't really know what's coming this year. Attractions, I guess, still pretty nervous. They've had a really rough time the last few years and this year might not be that much better, we don't know. But it's thinking about what more they can do with what they already have. So looking at the products they already have and actually can we improve those rather than something from scratch? What more can we do to make this better? Matthew Henderson: Yeah, definitely. And I think people understandably in the current climate are even more cautious with money. So it's about making sure that it's an experience, that the experience doesn't stop when you get to the gift shop door that carries on. So how can you create product that is reflective of that amazing day they've had that memory and that they can take a piece of it home? And I think that's the challenge and one that is really exciting to work with organisations and attractions to do and not always the most expensive thing to do. I think there's always ways to find smaller suppliers, local suppliers that can offer that bespoke and offering support both ways. Matthew Henderson: So if it's a small producer that works in a certain town, reassuring them that, "look, it is a risk for you, it is an investment for you to partner with an attraction and to do something bespoke but look at the benefits when this happens”. What can we put in place to work both sides? Do we make an agreement that we'll keep stocking it until you've run all those labels out? Because those labels might be a big investment for a small company or a small business. So, yeah, it's adaptable solutions, but making sure experience is key, I think.Kelly Molson: That's really nice as well, isn't it? Because it builds the partnership between local organisations and therefore you're kind of actively both promoting each other. Matthew Henderson: Yeah, completely. And I think especially now, I think there is so many from lockdown. A lot of people change their lives, didn't they? And a lot of people set up as local producers or suppliers. And if they were there before, I think they had a really rough time during that. And that was one of the things with the work at Beamish, was really support and local and it's such an exciting thing to find a coffee supplier or a tea supplier. Not that I'd be sampling either of them.Kelly Molson: Wasted on you. Matthew Henderson: Yeah, a fudge supplier, and bring them into the heart of the thing that often they pay to take their family to. And how can you find opportunities to involve them? So could they go to morning briefings and bring everyone a cup of tea to try it? How do you make sure that the person stands in behind the till has as much passion about that coffee as the person that makes it? And it's by showing them that connection that every time they get an order that there's sort of a celebration in that office. Really, that, "wow, look, we've had another order from this organisation". Our business is strengthening and it goes back to the point where the customer is buying something and you want that person selling it to have as much passion. Matthew Henderson: So a lot around staff ownership, I think, is quite key with it. Kelly Molson: Yeah. I love that idea of celebration, isn't it? That's really important, isn't it, to drive that kind of passion for what you're doing. Matthew Henderson: Yeah, completely. And I think in all of our own businesses, often that's a private thing, isn't it, to celebrate it and while we're chuffed, because you have to kind of look cool and as if you don't really need the work or don't. But actually, it's about sort of really celebrating those moments. And I think through the work that the Museum and Heritage Show do and the Association of Cultural Enterprise, I think it's about celebrating those moments and really enjoying it on a bigger scale. But for those local producers, I love the idea that someone might buy something local and have a feel good moment. Matthew Henderson: So, yeah, it's really nice to buy something that's a memory or a part of the attraction, but also that feel good of supporting the attraction, which is often a charity within the cultural heritage sector, but then also supporting local and UK businesses. So, yeah, there's a lot of lovely moments to be had, I thinkKelly Molson: Isn't there? I've got, like, a big grin on my face while we're chatting about now. It's lovely, Matt. And I think, actually, we can't talk about celebrating without discussing your recent award, because you won quite a fantastic award recently, didn't you? Let's talk about it. Let's celebrate it. Matthew Henderson: Thank you. Yeah, it was an amazing thing. So my great friend Matthew Hunt, who was formerly at the Science Museum, nominated me for Rising Star, the Cultural Enterprise Awards. And then I was sort of blown away that he would even consider that and then somehow won that. And literally this isn't something maybe I shouldn't be saying on the podcast, but I was literally talking to the person next to me and didn't hear because I didn't know that ever seen that I would win. So went up and was like, over the moon to win. And to be in that room full of those people years was I remember getting back to the hotel. I just couldn't sleep. Sort of reliving that. But then actually, there'd been a vote for the overall winner during the conference and amazingly won that as well. Matthew Henderson: So, yeah, it was certainly something that it was something that sent to my mom, really, a photograph of those two awards. And then the museum had great success as well, with Best Shop for the market stalls, a lot of market stalls that they did in the museum. And heritage awards and the Pandemic Pivot award. And best products for the cold cream and the chemist shop. So it was lovely as a team, really, at Beamish to celebrate those wins. And Allison, who's the stock manager at Beamish, we had a little shelf for those trophies and it was just in our little stock room. But it's a really special thing for a team that had sort of been brought to the front through lockdown because of the needs. Kelly Molson: I think that's wonderful and it's really good. Like you say, it's really important to celebrate all those little wins and they're big wins and they definitely need to be celebrated. It's been phenomenal talking to you today. Thank you so much for coming on. We always ask our podcast listeners to recommend a book that they love for us, something that might be something that they just enjoy reading to their children. It might be something that's helped shape their career in some way. What have you got for us today? Matthew Henderson: Thank you. So I'm actually, in between leaving Beamish and this new venture, I had four weeks off where I went to the movie theatre to volunteer. So my thing was that I was going to take loads of books and to sort of read. And actually being a walking by lines in the middle of the night and not being able to sleep was a need to do that. And I read a book called A Bit Of A Stretch by Chris Atkins, and it's not a book that would normally jump off the shelf to me, but it's a real story about his time that he spent in Wandsworth Prison after being involved in a tax avoidance scheme. And it's this day by day diary of his time in Wandsworth. And the reason that I picked that is previously, Johnson King hearing outreach, working in prisons.Matthew Henderson: And I think at the moment, everyone's looking at the things that we can see in terms of cuts and the things that need support, but actually, for prison and sort of rehabilitation, it's behind a wall. And we never sort of look at it or think about it because it's not in many of our day to day lives. But that book and that sort of time for the work that I did in there really brought those people and those people that work there to the front. So I would recommend that I feel like every person in the country should have a copy of that book and it's just the most emotive funny book that I've ever read. So, yeah, I would definitely recommend it. Matthew Henderson: You could keep out the lions roaring over the top of it, but certainly I would recommend to anybody to read that. Kelly Molson: Brilliant. That great recommendation. Never been recommended before either, so this is a new one for us. Well, listen, if you want to win a copy of that book, as ever, if you go over to our Twitter account and you retweet this episode announcement with the words, I want Matthew's book, then you'll be in with the chance of winning it. It's been brilliant to have you on, Matthew. I'm so glad that everybody recommended you to come on. I'm so glad that I took their advice. Your new venture is called Creative Ideas and Solutions. Your website address is your name, right? Matthew Henderson: It is, yes. It's MatthewHenderson.net. Kelly Molson: There we go. We're going to put all of that in the show notes, so if you do fancy a chat with Matt, you'll be able to find him there. Matt, keep being you, because, honestly, this has been such a delight to talk to you. I've loved every single minute of it. I hope Bug is well and continues to be your best bud. Matthew Henderson: Thanks so much for the invitation here. It's a real honour. So thank you for that. Kelly Molson: It's been great. And maybe you'll come on again. Maybe come on again next year and you can tell us how things have been going. Matthew Henderson: Yeah, that'd be amazing. Yeah, I'll bring Bug with me. Kelly Molson: That's what I was hoping for. Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast.

We sit down with friend of our show, Jason Hanley, Vice President of Education and Visitor Engagement at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to analyze the 2023 Nominees. The Nominees for 2023 Induction are: Kate Bush Sheryl Crow Missy Elliott Iron Maiden Joy Division/New Order Cyndi Lauper George Michael Willie Nelson Rage Against the Machine Soundgarden The Spinners A Tribe Called Quest The White Stripes Warren Zevon To be eligible for nomination, an individual artist or band must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. Eight out of 14 of the Nominees are on the ballot for the first time, including Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, Willie Nelson, The White Stripes, and Warren Zevon. This is the first year of eligibility for Missy Elliott and The White Stripes. Fans around the world participate in the Induction selection process through the Fan Vote. Through April 28, fans can vote online every day at vote.rockhall.com or in person at the Museum in Cleveland. The top five artists selected by the public will comprise a “fans' ballot” that will be tallied along with the other ballots to determine the 2023 Inductees. Inductees will be announced in May.

Ancient sculptures at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts are getting a new look. After years of reimagining how to present the great Greek, Roman and Byzantine art, the museum has found ways to draw threads from thousands of years ago to today, using technology to deepen visitor engagement. Special correspondent Jared Bowen of GBH Boston reports for our arts and culture series, "CANVAS." PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Ancient sculptures at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts are getting a new look. After years of reimagining how to present the great Greek, Roman and Byzantine art, the museum has found ways to draw threads from thousands of years ago to today, using technology to deepen visitor engagement. Special correspondent Jared Bowen of GBH Boston reports for our arts and culture series, "CANVAS." PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Jason Hanely is the Vice President of Education and Visitor Engagement of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The 2022 induction ceremony is airing Saturday, November 19th at 8:00 PM on HBO. He talks about Dolly Parton changing her mind and accepting the nomination and surprise appearances from Dave Grohl and Sheryl Crow. He also discussed Nine Inch Nail's recent performance at the RRHOF. rockhall.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James Hipkin joins us to share about the consumer website journey to solving their problem and how you can make your website more effective and create value that persuades them to connect with you.   Highlights From This Episode: The consumer gets to the website on a journey trying to solve a problem The reality is most of their website traffic is getting there by referral What you're doing with the testimonial is providing reasons to believe you're offering me a solution Ninety percent of loyalty problems can be traced to a flawed sales process. A really effective website creates value for the visitors to the website   Links & Resources From This Episode: Learn more:   Red 8 Interactive   More About James Hipkin James is an accomplished, forward-thinking marketing professional with 30+ years of multi-disciplinary experience in marketing and marketing communications companies serving high-profile, global brands and B2C clients in consumer packaged goods, durables, transportation, telecommunications, and financial services. He has been involved in digital marketing for more than ten years, first as president of a direct marketing agency Brann Worldwide's San Francisco office, where he led the evolution of the agency from traditional direct marketing to digital. Clients included Apple, Wells Fargo online bank and Nestlé. He went on to become the head of a mid-sized agency's interactive group, with Toyota as the main client. Over ten years ago, he joined Red8 Interactive (https://red8interactive.com), a long-term vendor and became an owner and managing director. Awesome FREE Resources for YOU! Entrepreneur Toolbox Special access to reports, books and resources provided to you as gifts from our podcast expert guests. This valuable information covers various business and life topics.  Power of 3 Daily Planner A one-page daily planner to keep you on track to reaching your goals and taking action on the important things in your business and life.   Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please Share It, Subscribe to the Podcast and Leave Us An iTunes Review. Val Low is a MAP IT Master & Brand Strategist and takes entrepreneurs to their next level of growth and impact. Through visual business mapping, Val works with entrepreneurs to take their dreams and business ideas out of their head and bring them to life. Val provides strategy on creating a message and brand to stand out in a noisy marketplace that people love to talk about. Visit Val's Website: https://vallow.me/ Connect with Val on Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/val-low   #entrepreneur  #business  #branding  #marketing  #mindset  #problem solving  #solution to problems  #referrals  #website  #testimonials  #customer journey

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is  Kelly Molson, MD of Rubber Cheese.Download our free ebook The Ultimate Guide to Doubling Your Visitor NumbersIf you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this episode.Competition ends October 1st 2022. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references: https://www.lumsdendesign.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/callum-lumsden-b8473a3/https://www.instagram.com/lumsdendesign/https://www.linkedin.com/company/lumsden/ Callum Lumsden is a leading design expert for cultural and visitor attractions. He is the co-founder of Lumsden, a specialist design studio delivering bespoke retail and leisure environments for the world's most renowned museums, galleries and visitor attractions including V&A Dundee, MoMA (NYC), Warner Bros. Studio Tour – The Making of Harry Potter London, and M+ Museum, Hong Kong.  Transcriptions: Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host Kelly Molson. In today's episode, I speak with Callum Lumsden, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Lumsden Design. Callum shares his journey to founding Lumsden, an interior design agency that creates iconic retail spaces for museums and attractions all over the world. Listen along to hear why retail space is pivotal for today's visitor attractions. If you like what you hear, subscribe on all the user channels by searching to Skip the Queue.Kelly Molson: Callum, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today. It's a pleasure to have you with me.Callum Lumsden: Thank you. Thanks for inviting me. I'm looking forward to this.Kelly Molson: I'm glad that you're looking forward to this but we are going to start with our icebreaker questions. Yeah, it might be a think, you never know. So at the start of every podcast, I always ask a few icebreaker questions to our guests. Mostly they're really stupid and just a chance for us to find out a little bit about you. So I would like to know, when you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?Callum Lumsden: Oh, that's a good one. What did I want to be? A rock star.Kelly Molson: Oh really?Callum Lumsden: Oh yeah. Yeah.Kelly Molson: Okay. And did you ever come close?Callum Lumsden: I managed to get a flute from school and I was big into a band called Jethro Tull at the time. So Ian, I can't remember his last name. He used to stand on one leg and play a flute. That's as far as I got.Kelly Molson: Oh, right. Okay. Can you do the one-legged flute playing?Callum Lumsden: Maybe I can do the one leg, but not the flute.Kelly Molson: It doesn't sound very rockstar-ish, does it? Flute player.Callum Lumsden: No, no, no, it doesn't, but Jethro Tull were pretty good. But I was also roadie for some mates of mine. They had a proper band and that was in Edinburgh. So I got to get a little bit of taste of that, but I've always been massively interested in rock music or music of any kind, really.Kelly Molson: Oh well this is really handy then, because my next question for you is, what is your karaoke song?Callum Lumsden: It's got to be Sweet Caroline.Kelly Molson: Yeah. It's a classic, isn't it?Callum Lumsden: Yeah. That's the one. Because you can get everybody joining in on that. Because nobody knows the words, but they get the bah bah bah so that always works.Kelly Molson: That's the key to a good karaoke song choice, isn't it? Pick something that everybody else knows. So you're not the only one singing it.Callum Lumsden: Oh, things they know. Yes.Kelly Molson: Great. Okay. Last one. If you could switch lives with anyone for a day, who would it be?Callum Lumsden: Somebody who's just starting to go to art college?Kelly Molson: Well, that's a good choice. Is that because you would be full of the wisdom that you have now or you would want to go in a different direction?Callum Lumsden: Yeah, it might take me in a different direction of what I originally wanted to do, which was to be an artist.Kelly Molson: Hmm. Interesting. Okay. Maybe we'll talk a little bit more about that. All right, firstly though, I want to know what your unpopular opinion is.Callum Lumsden: Here's one. I think musical theatre is the most unattractive part of the creative industries. I absolutely hate musicals.Kelly Molson: Oh no.Callum Lumsden: Come on. Bring it on.Kelly Molson: I love it. Oh no, really? What is it that really upsets you about it?Callum Lumsden: I just think it's so pretentious and naff and horrible. And then-Kelly Molson: Isn't it the naffness that makes it great though?Callum Lumsden: Yeah. And I just love ... I'm surrounded by people who love musical theatre so I really like winding them up about it.Kelly Molson: Do you get dragged along though?Callum Lumsden: No.Kelly Molson: Yeah but you point blank refuse.Callum Lumsden: Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. I wouldn't even think about ... People don't even think about asking me because I'll just sit there and be embarrassing.Kelly Molson: So not even a little Mamma Mia trip would inspire you.Callum Lumsden: Nope.Kelly Molson: Oh no. I had really high hopes for this interview. I thought we were going to get on so well.Callum Lumsden: Sorry. Is that the end of it?Kelly Molson: We're done. You can leave. Get out of my podcast booth.Callum Lumsden: Yeah. Yeah. And let's not get onto ABBA either.Kelly Molson: Oh God. Can we not? Because yeah, that'll go right off. There's a lot of people listening to this that love ABBA and I bet Eurovision as well so-Callum Lumsden: Yeah. Yeah. Sorry everybody.Kelly Molson: All right. Well let's just, we'll park that then. Callum you tell me about your background and how you have come to found Lumsden Design.Callum Lumsden: Well, it started it by me going to art college. At art college, I ended up studying furniture design. Then I went to Royal College of Art to do what was then called interior architecture. And that opened me up to all manner of different people and processes, et cetera. And then when I graduated I knew most of the people in the fashion department and they went off to work for various retailers and their bosses started saying that there's any of your mates, any good interior design, we've got a shop to design. And lots of them said, "Oh I know this guy called Callum. Give him a shout." So that got me into that. So I've been designing shops ever since then.Kelly Molson: Wow.Callum Lumsden: So that's how it started.Kelly Molson: Yeah. And so how long has Lumsden Design been around?Callum Lumsden: Well, it's been in a few different variations because when I left the RCA, I worked for myself and then I went to work for various retailers in house, such as Jaeger for instance. But I was also freelancing myself and then I eventually joined various big design companies. And then I formed London Design Partnership, it was called, oh 20, 30, 35 years ago. Something like that.Kelly Molson: It's the longest job you've ever had.Callum Lumsden: Well, yeah it's gone through various different for formations. I did merge with another design company for a couple of years and then I started what it is now, which is Lumsden Design. Although we're getting rid of the design, just calling it Lumsden now.Kelly Molson: I like that. That's quite rockstar, isn't it? You just got the one name now.Callum Lumsden: Well, yeah, it's keeping the Lumsden name, it's had its advantages, but there's also disadvantages. Because how long can ... Lumsden isn't just me. I have a team of people, a great team of people and everybody has to be part of all of that. And clients need to understand that I can't be there on every single one and all of those kind of things. So this one, this variation, which will stay the same, probably goes back to 2010. Yeah. So 12 years in the way that we're doing it now. Yeah.Kelly Molson: Yeah. Yeah. And so it's really interesting the way that you've ... Because this podcast is obviously for people that work in and for the attraction sector. And you have kind of evolved a little bit over the years, haven't you, in terms of working in that sector. So it that wasn't what you set out doing. Was it?Callum Lumsden: Yeah, there's a bit of happen chance that has gone on. The route to where we are now started probably in the year 1998, when we pitched for the retail for Tate Modern. And I'd always done retail, but I was asked to pitch for Tate Modern. I presume that you've been there or people that are listening to this know it. And we won it and I had no idea about the importance of retail to the cultural sector. And that opened in year 2000, 22 years ago, believe it or not. And then that got me into this sector. So I started, Tate Modern kicked it off. And then it was people like the V&A, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum.Callum Lumsden: So I started spinning into this and then that went into loads of different places. And I'd always worked in retail, but retail, if you take mainstream retail, from a design perspective, you come up with a concept, you build it and if it's successful, then it gets repeated again and again, and again. The Americans call it cookie cutter. If you think of Gap, whichever Gap you see, it looks exactly the same. With this sector, every single client is different. And then eventually took the decision that we would just concentrate on that sector. And the route to visitor attractions was winning the Warner Brothers project in Leavesden, just outside of London, doing the retail for the Harry Potter-Kelly Molson: The name that everyone always gets wrong.Callum Lumsden: Studio tour. Yeah. It's the Harry Potter Studio Tour. No, no. It's the Warner Brothers Studio Tour, the making of Harry Potter. There we go.Kelly Molson: We had Jeff Spooner on-Callum Lumsden: Yeah. Sorry Jeff.Kelly Molson: Sorry, Jeff. But he said, everybody gets it wrong. They either call it the Harry Potter tour or the Warner Brothers tour. It's always a different, a different name every time.Callum Lumsden: And it's interesting connection with the route to get to them because the reason that I got contacted about pitching for that project was a couple of the directors from Warner Brothers in LA went to the British Museum and we'd done all the retail for the British Museum. And one of the library rooms in the British Museum is called the Greenville room. When you walk into the British Museum, you turn right, and it's where all the high end products are sold. Everything from statues to jewelry to watches to da da. And it's got loads of books. And Harry Potter is that. And they said to the guy who's in charge of British Museum commercial side, who did this? And that was me. Well, me and my team. And we pitched for it and we won it. And that started us into this amazing journey with Warner Brothers and various other places.Kelly Molson: Oh, I love that. It's a really ... I wanted to ask you how you became specialists. And I love that you've said it's like a catalyst process, because that's what happened to us as well. We won a big project for an existing client, for Pernod Ricard. So we worked on a project for the Plymouth Gin Visitor Centre. We created their ticket booking system and their website and it was such a brilliant experience going through that, to understand about the experience economy and visitor experience and how you take somebody on a journey through that. That was the catalyst for us. That was a really exciting project. And it was a world that we just thought we want to be more and more involved in. And it's really lovely to hear that was kind of a similar effect to you. It's brought you into this incredible world of ... It's fun, isn't it? All of these things that we work on, they're really fun.Callum Lumsden: Yeah. And that's what's interesting about all the clients that we work with, they're all entirely different and the we've got a who's who of clients. Abbey Road, everybody in the world knows Abbey Road. You can talk to somebody from China and they'll know what Abbey Road is all about. And that's as much about visitor experiences as the studio tour in Leavesden.Kelly Molson: So I've got quite a few questions for you today, but I just want to touch on what you said earlier, because you were talking about Gap and the cookie cutter experience of their stores. So with that, I guess people work out what works and they just replicate it. Yours is so different because every store that you're working on is completely different. Everything has a different brand story, has different values. How do you even start to approach a project when it's so different each time you do it?Callum Lumsden: Well, it's a very overused word, but immerse ourself in that brand, as much as we can. We sit down or walk around and just talk to people, observe, find out who the visitors are, the fans, are they school kids? And that's the difference in this sector. Because if you go to, say a high street brand, again, you probably got every retailer saying, well, our core customer is ... For the people that we work for, there is a bit of a core customer, but actually it can be anybody from two years old to 82 years old. The Warner Brothers Studio Tour, it's international, it can be grannies and grandpas to a whole trip of school kids to teenagers or moms who were reading the Harry Potter books when they were six, who are now reading that to their own kids.Callum Lumsden: And if you go to, we worked for MoMA in New York, you've got absolute fans of MoMA products. The New York dinner set will go and buy their china and their cutlery at the New York design store, the MoMA design store. Go across the roads to the museum itself and you'll get a tourist, who's come from Austria because ... So actually defining who the ... So understanding that is completely different every single time. The National Theatre that we did in the South Bank, the shop there, the book shop that you went to find a particular book on a particular play, we changed that around to actually make it about stories about the productions that were going on in the theatre, the theatre itself. And they have three or four one time because there's lots of different theatres and that help the retail team there design the products that will fit that store, but still have the bookshop at the back because they weren't making any money out that, but they are making money out of the products.Kelly Molson: Right.Callum Lumsden: And understanding how ... Because it's not just about making the spaces look great or seamless, which is another part of what needs to be done, but they've got to make money. They have to increase revenue. That's why they're there in the first bit, apart from everybody expects to go into, I hate the term gift shop, but 96% of people will go into the shop and buy something-Kelly Molson: Exit through the gift shop. Yeah.Callum Lumsden: Yeah. And they will buy something. So make the most of it.Kelly Molson: It's a fascinating process, isn't it? I think you touched on it there in terms of the commercial, but why is retail space so important to the sector? It is about commercials, right?Callum Lumsden: Yes it is. But it does have benefits as well. Visitor attraction are slightly different to the cultural sector because the cultural sector, the money that's generated goes to the curators to help them buy the objects that they want in their collections. And it also helps in the education part of what they do and the events and everything else. If you take MoMA, their retail turnover is $52 million per year. That's a lot of money.Kelly Molson: That is a lot of money.Callum Lumsden: Yeah. I'm not able to tell you what Warner Brothers is, but let's say it's really quite successful, but that goes back into them to be able to develop the next part because a studio tour can't stand still, everybody has to look at, all right, what are we going to do in the next year, the next two years. Because they want repeat visits. So to be able to do that and to be fair to Warner Brothers, they also put a lot back into the local community education as well, developing their staff, all of those kind of things. So there's a whole load of other aspects to it. So the money that's generated is really important to everybody.Kelly Molson: Yeah. Yeah. Completely. How does it help to sustain their visitor engagement? So what part does retail play in making that visitor maybe come back or be more engaged with the brand?Callum Lumsden: Well, again, the retail offer is done to the merchandise. The merchandise has to be looked at as creatively as possible in terms of, okay, what else can we do that will grab people's attention? So there's an introduction of hampers at Warner Brothers for Harry Potter. So you could actually take a whole Harry Potter based hamper with loads of product in it so you've got a whole set of something. That was introduced and that's been really important. That's been a really successful one. Personalisation, doing lots of different things to actually make a wand that's just for you or all of those kind of things and personalisation is becoming really ... Well it's there. It's become really important also in the cultural sector as well where you can get your own name on it. You can get things custom made according to ... Because people like Adidas and Nike, they're doing that. You can get your trainers personalised, all of that needs to seep into the sector that I work in as well. And that's becoming really successful.Kelly Molson: Yeah. And I guess some of the retail spaces that you've owned, most of the retail spaces that you've designed, they almost become experiences in themselves. Don't they? Like a mini attraction within an attraction.Callum Lumsden: Well, yeah. Well, a lot of ... Yeah. There's quite a lot of stores that we've done that people go to but they don't go into the museum. The Tate Modern is one example. MoMA is another example. But that's not the point. The point is that what is being sold and how you actually design that store needs to reflect the brand of the institution that it is part of. And it should be, in our view, a seamless thing. So you shouldn't feel, all right, well, I'm now going into the shop. You should feel that it's part of the Harry Potter experience or the museum or the theatre experience in terms of look and feel. So that means that the space could be inspired by, well, for Harry Potter, it's about the props that are in there, referring to Diagon Alley in terms of the look and feel of the place.Callum Lumsden: Or, if you take the British museum, it reflects the architecture, because it is a completely ... That's big tourist ... That people want British Museum because it's a fantastic building. It's got an amazing collection. Everything that's in the shop is telling stories about what they've just seen as they've walked around the museum. And that's what they want to take a piece of. They want to take that memory away either for themselves or to buy for somebody. And that's where the click happens between retail and the actual experience of walking around the rest of the building, et cetera.Kelly Molson: I would love to know the process that you go on when you start to work with the visitor attraction. You touched on it earlier about immersing yourself into who their clientele is, who their customers are, who's going to be visiting. Can you share the process that you take? You take the cultural institution on, or the attraction on. So things that they need to think about or research that they need to carry out if they're going to go through this process with you?Callum Lumsden: Well, most of the institutions that we work with or the companies or the brands, they have their research anyway. So the demographic for instance will be well and truly looked at by ... Without exception actually. There's usually something. Except when it's a brand new, we haven't done this before that. That's usually very interesting. We just did the stores for amazing new museum that's been built in Hong Kong called M+, that's M with a plus sign, which has the largest collection of contemporary visual culture in Asia. It's an amazing building. It's taken something like 20 years to finally come to fruition. We've been working with them for five years. It opened last November. Sadly Hong Kong is closed because of COVID, et cetera. So I haven't actually been able to visit what we just sweated tears over.Kelly Molson: Oh gosh, that must be really hard, to not be able to see it.Callum Lumsden: Yeah, it's really difficult. Yeah. But they are anticipating that people from Hong Kong, but also most of, when they're allowed to, people from China, but also Asia, but they're also expecting other international tourists. So deciding who was going to be the demographic for there was a little bit-Kelly Molson: Yeah. Very tricky.Callum Lumsden: Hit and miss. Abbey Road was the same. They knew that everybody, so many people, tourist buses, et cetera, were rocking up to walk across the zebra crossing and really upset London taxi drivers the whole time. But they had no idea people would actually walk into the building to buy anything, but that's been an enormous success. So you have to make assumptions is a long way around of saying that. But most of the time, the details of the demographics, who'll be there, talking to the curators, talking to the management, talking to the retail teams, as well, is our way of doing it.Callum Lumsden: And an awful lot of the time we're working in, such as the M+ in Hong Kong example, working with a brand new building, you've got super important architects who are being commissioned to design these amazing buildings. So being allied with them in terms of their vision for the building is another part of what we like to understand. In terms of the materials they're using, the space they are going to give us, where it's actually going to go, because the location of a shop, it's not always exit through the gift shop. All of those ... Are there other opportunities? So we look at all of that with the client teams that we work with. And then that starts to, for us, that's the kickoff point.Callum Lumsden: Understanding what the merchandise is, a lot of the time that's been developed at the same time as we're ... Because it actually takes longer to get merchandise together than it does to build a shop.Kelly Molson: Oh really?Callum Lumsden: Oh yeah. Sometimes it can be two years. In museums, if you say somewhere like the National Gallery, their most popular product is the sunflower painting by Van Gogh, which they've got on everything from beer maps to fridge magnets, et cetera. Working to get permission to do that from artists can take ages. Andy Warhol, working at Abbey Road, trying to get The Beatles, the guys who are looking after The Beatles or Pink Floyd or Rolling Stones, they are super sensitive about, no, you can't do that. Or you can do that. For Abbey Road to really get the products, they've done it, but it's taken a long time.Kelly Molson: Yeah. I wonder what they' vetoed. No, you can't put my face on a tea towel.Callum Lumsden: Well, I had an idea about Mean Mr. Mustard socks and that didn't happen.Kelly Molson: Disappointing.Callum Lumsden: Yeah. I would've worn them.Kelly Molson: Me too. That's brilliant. Thank you for that insight into the process. I guess then, the brands that you work with are phenomenally well known or they have such rich history or such good stories like Harry Potter, or I know you mentioned the National Gallery there, the designing of the stores and what they're going to look like, interior. That must be the easy part. You've got so much to work with.Callum Lumsden: No, it's never easy because there's lots of layers of people that you need to go through. And navigating that it can be quite interesting, shall we say. Because every everybody's got an opinion.Kelly Molson: And there are quite a lot of boards involved in cultural organisations as well. Aren't there? So there's a lot of layers of people to come through.Callum Lumsden: Well, yeah. And if you're working with a museum, you are working with academics and they don't have conversations, they have debates. And inevitably that debate will mean there'll be 25 people in the room who all have to say something and you come away with, was there a decision there? And then you've got the architects. The architects can be very easy to work with or very opinionated and have one direction. So actually navigating that can be quite entertaining sometimes. We did the V&A Dundee, which is an amazing building, that was designed by a Japanese architect called Kiakumi. And they were fantastic. They were just so ... Yes, this is ... We'd like this, da da. Everything fitted. It was good. But there's other examples that I won't go on air to talk about-Kelly Molson: I was going to ask you, I was going to ask you-Callum Lumsden: Nose to nose.Kelly Molson: Without naming any names, can you tell us about an experience where you couldn't get what you wanted.Callum Lumsden: I usually get what I want.Kelly Molson: Oh, right.Callum Lumsden: Or there's-Kelly Molson: You're very persuasive.Callum Lumsden: Or there's a bit of a compromise. Yeah. There was one example where it just got so stupid that the head of the museum walked into one of the meetings that I was having alongside the retail team and the architects. And he came in and said, I've had enough of this, the architects ... You're no longer involved in this, get out.Kelly Molson: Wow.Callum Lumsden: And let Callum do what he wants to do. So there you go.Kelly Molson: Oh right, I love it.Callum Lumsden: No name, no name was mentioned.Kelly Molson: No names mentioned the power that you have Callum, as well, I love that.Callum Lumsden: I have since worked with those architects on another project and everything was fine.Kelly Molson: We all have our little friction moments.Callum Lumsden: But that was 15 years later and they'd calmed down.Kelly Molson: It took them that amount of time to mellow.Callum Lumsden: Yeah.Kelly Molson: I'm glad there was a happy ending. What about retail spaces that aren't at the actual attraction itself? So we talk about Harry Potter, they have retail stores all over the place. So King's Cross is the one for me because obviously that is very pertinent to the film. So I will be queuing up to get ... Waiting for my train to be announced and I'll see hoards of people queuing up to have their photo taken with their trolley wedged into the wall there and the shop there. Do you get involved in that element as well? So retail-Callum Lumsden: Yes we do. Yeah. We designed that shop and that was a moment of genius by somebody ... A guy called Jonathan-Kelly Molson: Very clever.Callum Lumsden: Johnathan Sands. He saw the opportunity and he opened that up and he eventually joined up with Warner Brothers. He's since moved on. But with those ones, we did that shop. We also did the airport shops, but because of COVID that didn't work out. Then there was Cursed Child, we did all the retail and the theaters for that. And that went world wide, New York, Hamburg Sydney. I can't remember all the cities that that went to. And then we didn't get involved in it, but Warner Brothers opened up the store in New York, a full blown store right next to the Flat Iron building, that's been enormously successful. We didn't get involved in that one, but there's the shops that Warner Brothers have done, but there's also the shops that lots of other people have done copies of. And if you go to Edinburgh, you've got six versions of Harry Potter shops, nothing to do with us.Kelly Molson: No claim on those. Someone once described a retail experience as a bit like a theatrical experience. Not a musical theatrical experience, because we know how you feel about those, but ultimately you are taking the visitor on a journey, aren't you, around the store and you are making that a real experienced for them. Can I ask you, and this might be like what's your favourite child, but what has been your favourite store to design from that perspective?Callum Lumsden: Definitely the Warner Brothers Leavesden store, because that's gone through the number of iterations as well. They've expanded it. We've moved it around. We've done different things. We've developed the restaurants and the cafes. That's been great fun too. Every project, I'm thinking ... Because it's recently opened, the M+ in Hong Kong has been a great experience. And that's an interesting one about where it's going in the sector because within that, it wasn't just about a whole lot of shelves with products on it. A number of what we've called pavilions that were inspired by Hong Kong. And, for instance, the central pavilion in the show is a combination of a place where artists can do master classes and talk about what they're doing. And the retail guys developed products based around the artist or the artist has designed some of those products.Callum Lumsden: And then there's another space where artists are given the market stalls in Hong Kong, which I don't know if you've been to Hong Kong, but the markets are amazing. And the stalls are called pai dongs. We based one of our fixtures on pai dongs, and the idea. And that's what's happening, is that one of the pai dongs could be taken over by an artist to do anything that they want on it.Kelly Molson: Lovely.Callum Lumsden: Yeah. So sculptural or lighting or sounds because they've got sound artists and all of those kind of things. Or it can be handed over almost on a concession basis. So it could be, I don't know, a sports retailer, if they take it over. All of those things, or personalisation again, where you could actually get, if you're buying a wallet, you can get your own initial put on it, all of that kind of stuff. And then another part of it was for gift wrapping where we were commissioning Chinese calligraphers who will actually sign it.Kelly Molson: Oh, wow.Callum Lumsden: Or showing origami, how you can actually use origami to make your gift wrapping look even more different.Kelly Molson: Oh, that's incredible. That's really theatrical, isn't it? That's a real experience.Callum Lumsden: So you've really got activity going on and that's what happens with Harry Potter. When you're buying a wand, you've got somebody showing you how everything works and how to wave it and what to say and all of those kind of things. And that just gives people something. They'll remember that, they'll love that. And hopefully they'll also buy something, but it's adding something extra into that visitor experience. That's the way it's going for mainstream retail as well. That whole thing.Kelly Molson: Yeah.Callum Lumsden: Experiential.Kelly Molson: So I guess it's like the Hamley's thing, isn't it? Because I can remember as kid going around Hamley's and you watch the people, they show you how to use the toys and they show you how they work and to play with them.Callum Lumsden: Yeah, absolutely.Kelly Molson: There's a guy ... Do you know what? I hope I don't misquote this because I think it was Geoff Ramm that told me this story where ... Geoff Ramm is a public speaker and he told me this story about how he just got mugged off but he spent so much money in Hamley's because of somebody who was there demonstrating the product. It was some like paint blocks and they were painting these pictures and then talking them through and his kid was watching them paint and she asked the child what her name was. And then she drew this picture with her initials and blah, blah, blah, and then gave it to her. And he was like, well, that's it. I have to buy that product now, don't I? I've got this picture that I'm taking home with me, but I've also got to buy those things because my kid wants the magic. She's just seen the magic happen.Callum Lumsden: Yeah. Well, if you think about it, you go down to a food market and you've got the guys, come and get your apples and pears and all of that kind of thing. It's actually, it's not you, it's the way that people have always been persuaded to buy things or the butcher show that will remember your name when you walk in and say, did you enjoy that steak last week, we've got a nice piece of roast beef here. It's interaction. It's not just about how great the shop is, it's to do with the staff, the product, the atmosphere, the layout, there's so many different aspects that we've got to work together.Kelly Molson: Yeah. All the facets coming together. I think you've described that perfectly there, Callum, thank you. We're at the end of our interview, which I'm quite sad about, if I'm honest, I've really enjoyed this.Callum Lumsden: Nice of you to say.Kelly Molson: I always ask our guests a final question, which is about a book they love, but actually I've got one more question for you. I would love to know. Your list of clients is incredibly prestigious. Is there anyone that you would love to work with that you've not got your hands on yet?Callum Lumsden: That's a good one, Hamley's.Kelly Molson: Hamley's. Oh okay. Yeah. There's some work that could be done there.Callum Lumsden: Yeah.Kelly Molson: I think if you put stuff out in the universe, you never know what's going to come back, do you?Callum Lumsden: Yeah. Yeah, no, I think there's ... Well, if I ever get to speak to them, I'll tell them-Kelly Molson: You'll tell them.Callum Lumsden: I think what Hamley's used to be and what it is now is in need of a little bit of TLC.Kelly Molson: All right. Well, universe, let's see what you can bring to Callum. Thank you for sharing that. All right. What about a book that you love or something that you love, something that's helped you in your career? What would you recommend to our listeners?Callum Lumsden: Well, there's a beautiful book by a fantastic illustrator called Charlie Mackesy. I think that's how you pronounce his name. It's called The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse. And it's all illustrations, but with lovely little writing from him, and it's all about being gentle and kind to people. And that sounds a bit naff, but the illustrations are absolutely fantastic. I follow him on Instagram and it's just a lovely, beautiful book. I came across it as somebody else had it. And then somebody bought it for my birthday and I've actually used it a couple of times when I've done talks, et cetera, to illustrate different things. I highly recommend it. Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Hare.Kelly Molson: Ah, it is a wonderful book.Callum Lumsden: Oh, you know it?Kelly Molson: I do. I also follow him on Instagram and I have the book and it is a beautiful book and a number of people have recommended that book because I think it touched a lot of people at a really challenging time.Callum Lumsden: Yeah.Kelly Molson: As well. I think a lot of people were drawn to that book during the pandemic. And it's become a bit of a staple in, especially in nurseries as well, to be honest. A little bit of love and a little bit of hope that we all needed at that time.Callum Lumsden: Sorry. Lots of other people have recommended it as well. I thought I might have come up with something that would nobody else-Kelly Molson: No, it's a good thing. I always think it's a good thing if people have recommended it, because it's testament to that book, isn't it?Callum Lumsden: Oh yeah.Kelly Molson: It's a-Callum Lumsden: No it is good.Kelly Molson: Yeah. So as ever listeners, if you want to win a copy of that book, if you head over to our Twitter account and you retweet this podcast announcement with the words I would like Callum's book, then you could be in with the chance of winning it.Callum Lumsden: Oh that's nice.Kelly Molson: Callum. Thank you. Yeah. Isn't that lovely, people can win your book choice. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Been lovely to chat.Callum Lumsden: My pleasure.Kelly Molson: We will put all of Callum's details in the show notes, we will put links to some of the case studies so you can see some of the incredible work. I'm sure most of you listening have visited many of the places that Callum has designed. So you will see firsthand what they look like, but we'll put links in the show notes and you can go and check that out. And if anyone has a connection at Hamley's that they would like to put Callum's way, pass it on to me and I will make sure he gets that. Thanks Callum.Callum Lumsden: Thank you, Kelly. Nice to see you.Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast.

Vancouver Park Board unanimously approves pilot project allowing alcohol consumption in 22 parks Sarah Kirby-Yung, Vancouver City Councillor (ABC) discusses Vancouver's pilot project to allow alcohol consumption in 22 city parks.  Plus, your calls! - Is it time for Vancouverites to be allowed to drink in public parks?  What exactly goes into building a new museum and are there ways to mitigate expenses? Tim Willis, former Executive Vice President, in charge of Exhibition and Visitor Engagement, Royal BC Museum, dissects everything about building and running a museum!  Green Party MLA speaks out against building of a new Royal BC Museum Adam Olsen, Green Party of BC MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, member of the Tsartlip First Nation discusses what the building of a new Royal BC Museum means to him  Williams Lake First Nation launching “farm-to-table” cannabis facility Willie Sellars, chief of the Williams Lake First Nation discusses the new "farm-to-table" cannabis facility  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tim Willis, former Executive Vice President, in charge of Exhibition and Visitor Engagement, Royal BC Museum, dissects everything about building and running a museum!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joined live from Cleveland, Ohio with Jason Hanley, Vice President of Education and Visitor Engagement at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum as well as Mandy Smith, Director of education to discuss the nominees. 2022 Inductees include: Performer Category Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo Duran Duran Eminem Eurythmics Dolly Parton Lionel Richie Carly Simon Musical Excellence Award Judas Priest Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis Early Influence Award Harry Belafonte Elizabeth Cotten Ahmet Ertegun Award Allen Grubman Jimmy Iovine Sylvia Robinson To be eligible, artists are required to have released their first record 25 years prior to Induction. Eminem, Duran Duran, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon were on the ballot for the first time. This is Eminem's first year of eligibility. This is the first year in the Hall's 37-year history that six female acts will be inducted in one class. The 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, November 5, 2022 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. The Induction Ceremony will air at a later date on HBO and stream on HBO Max, along with a radio simulcast on SiriusXM's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Radio channel 310 and SiriusXM's Volume channel 106.

The Archaeology Centers Coalition and RadioCIAMS present “SAPIENS Talk Back”: eight conversations with students and scholars that expand upon the insights of Season 4 of the SAPIENS podcast entitled “Our Past is the Future.” In this episode, we continue the discussion that began in episode 6 of season 4 of the SAPIENS podcast, a conversation that examines “Slavery, Sustenance, and Resistance,” or what we might think of as “Setting the Table for an Archaeology of Resistance.” Our guests for this episode are Dr. Peggy Brunache, Lecturer of the History of Atlantic Slavery at the University of Glasgow and the first director of the Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies; and Dr. Kelly Fanto Deetz, Director of Collections and Visitor Engagement at Stratford Hall Plantation, and visiting Scholar in the Department of African American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. “SAPIENS Talk Back” was developed in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and the Society of Black Archaeologists, with special help from Drs. Sara Gonzalez, Justin Dunnavant, and Ayana Flewellen. Special thanks also to Chip Colwell and the production team at SAPIENS, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, and House of Pod.   This episode was made possible by financial support from the Archaeological Research Facility at the University of California at Berkeley. Hosts Rebecca Gerdes and Sam Disotell from the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies join Sara Ann Knutson (University of California, Berkeley), Jess Johnson (University of California, Berkeley), José Julián Garay Vázquez (University College London), and Helen Wong (University of Pennsylvania) for a conversation on how to reshape the discipline. SAPIENS Talk Back is a production of the Archaeological Centers Coalition. You can find more information about their work at archaeologycoalition.org.  RadioCIAMS is a member of the American Anthropological Association's podcast library. Our theme music was composed by Charlee Mandy and performed by Maia Dedrick and Russell Dedrick. This episode was produced at Cornell University by Adam Smith, with Ruth Portes as engineer and Rebecca Gerdes as production assistant.

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is  Kelly Molson, MD of Rubber Cheese.Download our free ebook The Ultimate Guide to Doubling Your Visitor NumbersIf you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this episode.Competition ends April 29th 2022. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references: https://www.stpauls.co.uk/https://twitter.com/SLTHeritagehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-lynes-timbrell Sandra Lynes Timbrell has worked in the cultural sector for 20 years, holding senior roles at some of the UK's most recognisable sites, including Shakespeare's Globe and English Heritage properties. She is Director of Visitor Engagement at St Paul's Cathedral, where she leads several teams including commercial, visitor experience, security, collections and marketing. She is responsible for creating and delivering operational models that enable attractions to be financially secure whilst simultaneously creating a welcoming environment for visitors.Sandra has mentored young people starting out in the heritage industry, and delivered numerous talks and training sessions for Museum & Heritage Show; Women in Leadership and SOLT; the leading membership organization for the performing arts in the UK. She holds an MA in Heritage Management.  Transcription: Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host Kelly Molson. In today's episode I speak with Sandra Lynes Timbrell, Director of Visitor Experience at St. Paul's Cathedral.Sandra shares an emotional recollection of starting a new role right at the start of the 2020 lockdown. And we discuss the unique perspective of St. Paul's as a place of worship, and also a tourist attraction. If you like what you hear, subscribe on all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue.Kelly Molson: Sandra, it is so lovely to have you on the podcast today. Thank you for coming on.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Thanks for having me. I'm been a bit of a fan, so I'm quite chuffed to be here to be honest. Kelly Molson: Oh, I love it when fans come on the podcast. I have to say you look super fabulous today as well.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Oh, thank you very much.Kelly Molson: As a fair, we're going to start with our icebreaker questions. So I want to know because this has happened to me. Have you ever met anyone famous and lost your mind a tiny little bit?Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yes. There's been a couple of people and there was an international incident with Barack Obama, which is a whole other podcast subject.Kelly Molson: Oh.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: But I suppose Michael Palin was my big one. Because I think he's amazing. I love Monty Python. And I had a bit of thing for him when he was younger. Obviously not now, he's a bit older. And I met him a couple. I met him at this book launch and I queued up during a lunch break to go and see him. And just got there and then just stood there and he was saying, "Hello, how are you? Thanks for coming.". And I just went, "Thanks".Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And then I met him again and he asked again how I was and just said something really stupid. I'm getting married. And he said, "Oh, that's lovely. Thank you.".Kelly Molson: But that is lovely.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: It is, but then I saw him again at another event, I thought I can't go anywhere near him because [inaudible 00:01:55].Kelly Molson: He would be, oh look, there comes that crazy lady again. Let's not go [crosstalk 00:02:01] next time.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Exactly.Kelly Molson: Oh, I love that. Thank you for sharing.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: But I have to say working at the Globe, I met lots of famous people. And I have a really bad... I'm really good with faces and terrible with names. So I used to meet lots of really famous people and then just say, "Oh hi, how are you?" And then realise they were Gemma Artetan.Kelly Molson: I've done this on a train before. Because I'm good with faces too. And I always think maybe I went to school with them or something.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yeah.Kelly Molson: I know them from the past. No, just the tele. Amazing. Thank you. Okay. If you could travel back in time, what period would you go to and why?Sandra Lynes Timbrell: That's tough because I love history. I'd be like Dr. Who's TARDIS, just doting all over the place. Wow, I don't know. Okay, let's think about this. I'd love to be around the Tudor Court. I think that would be really exciting. I'd love to go to the Restoration of Charles II. Because I always imagine that was like a carry-on film.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Because I think if you look at a picture of Charles II, he looks like St. James. So I almost imagine that after the austerity of the Puritan Commonwealth, there would suddenly be this almost Dorothy emerging into Oz and everyone was just having a really good time. So I think the Restoration Court would be exciting.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And I'll tell you where else actually, my Nana used to talk about The Blitz. She had quite a good time. She was in her late teens, early '20s. And obviously, it must have been difficult for her, but she had a good time going dancing with GIs and she was in Trafalgar Square on VE day. So something like that maybe, joining my Nana for a night out during the war.Kelly Molson: Oh that's nice, isn't it? Love that.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: There you go.Kelly Molson: Good. Thank you. Okay. And what is the worst job that you've ever had?Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Oh gosh. Without a doubt, it has to have been, it was way back when, when I was trying to get into museums, and I worked for an audio guide company who shall remain nameless. But I had to spend a week and a half stuffing envelopes for them. And it was proper 9:00 till 5:00, just stuffing envelopes. They were just launching their audio guide for the Bilbao Museum in Spain.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And it was just soulless because I just sat in this room and no one came to talk to me. And I just stuffed envelopes for a week and a half. And I thought, is this what museums are about?Kelly Molson: Oh, yes. It's not the greatest first experience, is it?Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Not brilliant, no.Kelly Molson: Okay. Well, things have moved on quite well since then, shall we say? All right. What is your unpopular opinion? And then you can tell us all about your background.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Oh, my unpopular opinion. You're going to get letters about this. I'm really sorry. I don't understand why The Great British Bake Off is so popular.Kelly Molson: I'm with you. No, it's OK. I'm with you.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Oh, really?Kelly Molson: Yes, it's all right. Oh God, me neither.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Watch the complaints rolling in.Kelly Molson: Oh, God. They're going to come, aren't they?Sandra Lynes Timbrell: They are. It's just, I don't get watching people bake cakes. I've tried watching it. It just doesn't make any sense. And then I don't understand why people want to enter the competition to make these big elaborate cakes when you could just go to the cake shop and buy one.Kelly Molson: I totally agree.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Anyone else who does. And I always feel I'm saying something really awful when I say I don't like-Kelly Molson: I do think it was better when it was first one. When it was a bit of a novelty and I did watch a few episodes then. But I still didn't really... I didn't love it. I didn't get into it. I know people who have bake off parties and stuff.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yeah.Kelly Molson: They'll bake cakes, especially for bake off week. And I'm just...Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Well people say, oh, you know it's whatever week this week. I was, I'm going to go to Marks & Spencer and I'm going to buy some ready made cakes and...Kelly Molson: And I am all about convenience.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yes.Kelly Molson: Time. And your valuable time that you need to spend on other things.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And I'd just be stressed.Kelly Molson: We're going to get on Sandra.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: We are.Kelly Molson: We're going to get on. Well, this all started with a little rubber, didn't it? Rubber collection? So here was my little...Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Pretty nice.Kelly Molson: St. Paul's Cathedral rainbow rubber. Look at that. Amazing. Now, this was from my 35-year-old rubber collection. And for our American people that are listening, I'm talking about erasers, novelty erasers.Kelly Molson: But eight year old me used to have a big old collection. And every time I went to a different attraction, I would pick up a rubber. So we have one here from Fourty Hall in Enfield, which is my local place I used to go to, the National Gallery. And I just found all of these in my mum's loft a couple of months ago. I decided I was going to get all of the people that could come on the podcast and the attractions. And you're my first one, Sandra. I'm really pleased.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yay.Kelly Molson: So tell us a little bit about your background?Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So I did a Degree in Ancient History and Archeology because I thought I was going to be Indiana Jones and I was going to find treasure. And then I spent a lot of time in some very wet trenches just outside of Manchester and realised it probably wasn't quite as glamorous as I thought it was going to be.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And I really wanted to go into curatorial. I didn't really quite know what. And for various reasons I ended up, just after I finished my degree, volunteering at the Verulamium Museum in St. Albans. And I originally went to help the curatorial team. They were closing for renovations. So I originally to help the curatorial team to pack up the exhibitions and items.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: But as time went on, I was there for a few weeks, and it gradually got, so could you help an education team? Could you help the front of house team? Could you help with the group book? All those things were happening. And I remember as the placement was coming to an end, I sat down with the Museum Director and I said, “You know what I've really enjoyed the most, is the variety”. And he said, "Ah, you're an operations person".Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And this light bulb went off because I never knew. And I think that's part of a bigger conversation. I never knew there was such a thing as operations. You get taught about the curatorial side, the conservation side, maybe the education side, but no one really talks about the day-to-day running, the operational stuff.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So I then went off and did a Master's Degree in Heritage Management. And at the end of that was really fortunate, I got a job in English Heritage up at Kenwood House. And I stayed in English Heritage for seven years. I cut my teeth there. I had a really good time there. It was hard work, but it was fun work. And we were all learning and moving at the same pace.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So, I was there for seven years, by the end of it I was Head of Visitor Operations for South London. So I had five beautiful historic properties and public parks and gardens. I moved on to a Heritage Lottery Fund Project Management. And then from there, I went off to the Museum of London as Deputy Head of Visitor of Operations. And that was just before London 2012.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So the whole lens, the focus of the world was on London. It was such a wonderful museum to be at. And again, they were just opening the Galleries of Modern London there. So we have this amazing new team, this amazing new gallery. We were looking at fresh ways to engage our visitors, looking at fresh commercial ideas and again, a really exciting time to be part of the museum. And that place will always hold a really special place in my heart.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And then moved on from there two Shakespeare's Globe, where I set up the Visitor Experience Department. I went there as Head of Visitor Experience and seven years later left as Director. And the Globe had grown quite organically. It started as a theatre and someone thought we'd better have a box office. And someone else thought, well, we'd better have a shop for people to buy things. And we should have some levies. Be very organic. And no one has ever really been the champion of the visitor. So I came along to knit all of those operational teams together.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And so I got the role at St. Paul's and the idea was to leave the Globe on the 20th of March 2020 and had a nice week off, go to a couple of exhibitions, spend some time with friends and a little boy. And then start this fantastic new job at St. Paul's on the 30th of March 2020.Kelly Molson: Wow.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Wow.Kelly Molson: So, where do we start? Because that's a pretty spectacular time to start a new job. And that must have been quite challenging just to say the very least.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yeah.Kelly Molson: Can you take us back to then, can you share with us what it was like for you? Because I can only imagine what you were thinking.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yeah, it was the best of times and the worst of times to quote "Tale of Two Cities". As I was leaving there was this... I'll go back a bit further, but there was this infamous now I think, meeting with the VE forum. I know you've done a podcast on the VE Forum before. There was this infamous meeting at which a load of us were at Central London attractions and Bernard Donoghue came in and we'd all been watching the news. It must have been mid-late February and Bernard Donoghue came in, and there was this thing happening in China.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And he started talking about the impact that was beginning to have in new Europe and also on hotel bookings in the UK. And as he was talking and he said, the words, are paraphrased, but it was along the lines of this will have a bigger impact or as big an impact as the second world war had.Kelly Molson: Wow.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And there was this palpable intake, audible intake of breath across the room. Because I think until that point no one had ever realised just what this was going to be. And at the Globe we talked about, we might have to stop a show or not have a show.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And I remember I went back, I went to St. Paul's on my way back home. And I presented this to a couple of the team that I'd already met and said, look, this is what Bernard's saying. And, okay, well, we'll probably need to think about if we can't do a service or if we have to close for a day or so. And I went back to the Globe and we were having the same conversation. Well, maybe it'll be a couple of days that we might have to close for.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And then gradually, just as time went on and you just see these horrendous news reports and things creeping up, we started to have these bigger meetings. The senior leadership team meetings I was having just about financials, where we were, what the impact of this was going to be, how we were going to manage. It was before things like furlough and all the grants that were there. It was this really stark reality that this was massive. Something was about to happen. And we're all about to fall off the edge of the cliff. And no one knew if there was going to be a net there for us, no one knew what was going to happen next.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And that last week I was meant to leave the Globe. I was meant to have the leave due on the Friday. I just remember from the Tuesday onwards people saying, I'm really sorry, I'm not coming in for the rest of the week, I was getting these emails. Until by I think the Wednesday or the Thursday that I left, there were four of us in and I had this moment, even though I'd been there seven years and it was just, well, thanks very much, take your stuff and we'll see you when we see you.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And I remember phoning St. Paul's and if you know the geography, the Globe is just across the river from St. Paul's. Phoning up and saying, can I bring some things across? And the response was, there's no one there, we've all gone. We've closed. So I had that week where I think I had coronavirus, but I was very, very sick. I don't know. But I couldn't move out of my bed for the week.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And then I started on the 30th of March. And day one is usually here's the photocopier, here's your colleagues, here's where to get a coffee. Day one was, we are going into a restructure. What do you want your department to look like? And I hadn't spent any time with my team.Kelly Molson: Wow.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: I'd had one coffee with a couple of them. I knew nothing about the operations and yet I'm standing there or sitting there at my kitchen table of it, having to make decisions that are going to impact people's lives, people's livelihoods.Kelly Molson: I know. I'm breathing out, because I feel quite anxious, even just hearing you say that. But I can't imagine how... I can imagine how unbelievably stressful that situation would you've been. And how awful, you don't know these people, you haven't worked with them. How do you even start to look at that?Sandra Lynes Timbrell: With difficulty and with a lot of trust. And I think the other thing just to throw into the mix, that my full-time job they then terminated my contract and gave me a contract for two days a week. So I was also looking at, I might not have a job by the end of this. And looking really coldly at what those... I was almost looking at it as a consultant in a way, that I'm not really part of this organisation. But I'm just going to have to look at this really objectively.Kelly Molson: Yeah.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And see what I think. Because otherwise I was just... And it was almost a good thing that I wasn't at the Globe and then getting tangled up in the emotion of that. And I don't want this to sound cold, but it was almost better that I didn't know people, because I was talking about job titles and job roles rather than people.Kelly Molson: Yes.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Names. But having said that, it was really bloody tough and it was this huge weight, that I felt of responsibility about what I was doing and what I was shaping. But I had to put the trust in the team that were around me, who I have to say, have been and were absolutely brilliant. I didn't get one person saying, what are you doing here? I didn't get one person... Everyone was there supporting me and saying, if you need anything, this is my phone number, give me a ring, let's talk it through.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So we lost 25% of the workforce, which was huge. But I had to trust that when my teams were telling me that I needed this amount of expertise to keep the Cathedral floor open, that's what they needed. I do remember sitting in several meetings. I had this PDF map that I picked up when I was doing the recce for the role, next to me. Because we were going into the granular detail of where these people would be and how that would affect the experience, whatever that experience may be.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And they were talking north transit. I was, hang on a second, north, where's that, north? And I'd look up, and the conversation moved on. I was thinking, I don't know what they're talking... I'd have to keep stopping and saying, where is that? What do you mean? So I had to trust that they were telling me the right things. And for them, they had to trust me. And there was a lot of patience. As I say a huge amount of patience for me, to pick those things up, which in an ideal world I would've done gradually over a period of time.Kelly Molson: Yeah. I guess it's such a difficult situation. Because like you said, I think the way that you approached it from a consultative perspective, I think that's brilliant. That's the only way that you could have done it, isn't it? To try and take the emotion out of what was happening.Kelly Molson: But I think that must have been really difficult for you as a leader, because you are in a position of leadership at that point and people are looking to you.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yeah.Kelly Molson: Regardless of how long you've been in that role, they're looking for you to tell them what they need to do or what's going to happen. And that must have been such a weight on your shoulders.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: It was a huge weight. And as I say, I was only there two days a week. So I chose Mondays and Thursdays because they were when the senior leadership team were meeting. So I'd be from 9:00 in the morning Monday back-to-back Zooms trying to get to know people, trying to work out what the impact of saying yes to this and no to that was. Trying to get under the skin of the finances, the operations.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And then I'd be off Tuesday, Wednesday, and I'd be looking after my little boy and doing all the other things. And then Thursday would come along and I'd have a million emails, and people, I'm really sorry we changed that decision and you weren't part of that. And I'm really sorry you weren't part of that.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So as a leader, I felt constantly on the back foot and I felt, I always want to have the answers or if I don't have the answers, I want to say to my team, I'm going to find a way to give you the answers. I'm going to get back to you on that. And what was so difficult was not being able to do that. We were reacting, and it's not just some rules, it was across the organisation. We were reacting constantly to other people's decisions.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And one of the things I had to say, and I've spoken to other people. And I know I'm not the only one who has said this. There was a certain point where Boris was doing those super helpful press conferences at 5:00 every day. And there was a certain point where we had to shut down the idea that Boris gave us all a call just before he went on the TV to say what he was going to talk about. It was, we are getting this information at the same time as you at 5:00 at night when we are also exhausted from being on back-to-back Zoom calls all day.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And then we are having to react to what we are being told. And in some instances it was, well, this will be happening in two weeks' time. In other instances, this is happening tomorrow. So we then had to make very quick decisions off of the back of that. And working so reactively, firefighting in a way, it's so tough because you don't have that stepping back, that evaluation, what worked well, what didn't work well, how could we do it better next time? It's just, we're just going to have to go with this and keep going with this.Kelly Molson: And it's exhausting, isn't it? And that reactive nature was like you say absolutely accurate for people because you all Zoomed out and then you'll have to make really strategic decisions based on information that's just been thrown at you that might suddenly come into act the next day. And so then those days get longer and longer and longer.Kelly Molson: From all of that, looking back though, what do you think are your biggest learnings that you took away from the situation?Sandra Lynes Timbrell: I think two. The first one was, to be honest. And the idea of honesty that I talked about, saying to the team I don't have the answers. I don't know. Making really clear that we were all... What's the phrase that you're all in the same boat and it might be... Well, we're not, it's the same storm, but different boats.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: But the idea that we were all going through this in some way, shape or form together. And that there weren't answers, there wasn't a usual, this is our five year plan. And this is how we're going to get there. It was just... It goes back to the idea of trust. But being honest, we were doing our best and we didn't know, but we were trying to find out the answers or trying to do as much as we could to make it easier for the team.Kelly Molson: Yeah.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And I think the other thing I've learned, and I keep telling myself this, is to be kind to myself. Because I started the first day of my job on the 30th of March, a week into lockdown. And I had to keep reminding myself that I didn't know. I wasn't expecting to know. And I've been there, it's coming up on two years. But I say to everybody, it feels like six months.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: This is the first time that I've seen any kind of normal cycle to the Cathedral. That I've been in any kind of normal planning meetings, that we've been talking about the next five years, as opposed to the next five minutes, the next five days.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So I sometimes feel a bit fraud. I sat in a meeting the other day and I said, I'm really sorry, I don't know anything about this. And someone said you've been here two years. But this is the first time I've had this discussion. This is the first time this has ever been told to me as an operations manager. And it's just reinforcing that. And as I say, being kind to myself that I shouldn't have expected that I would have all of the answers. Because we were all navigating this pandemic together. None of us had been through it before, so why should I know what to do?Kelly Molson: Yeah. It's really interesting. And I don't think we're all kind enough to ourselves.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: I don't think so.Kelly Molson: On a day-to-day basis anyway, let alone when there's a global pandemic, how can we...Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Exactly.Kelly Molson: I had a really similar chat to my team a little while ago about how me and my co-founder suddenly had to understand how to run a business in a completely different way. We'd never done... We had one team member that worked virtually for us or worked remotely for us.Kelly Molson: But we suddenly had to understand how we were going to run our whole business completely differently than we had before, at a time where we weren't sure if we were ever going to win any more business ever again, or if clients were going to stay with us. We just didn't have a clue what was going on. But everybody was looking to us to tell them what was going to happen. And we were just, "I have no idea".Sandra Lynes Timbrell: That's the assumption, you were digital. You were going to come save the world, weren't you?Kelly Molson: Apparently so, yeah. And touch wood, things were okay and we got through it. But we still didn't really have a clue. It was all just guesswork. And like you, we were reacting on information that we were hearing on the tele and going, okay, oh, we can do that now, then. Okay. Well we better do that. I'll ring up HMRC. I'll ring up the VAT office. We'll just put everything on pause. Absolute chaos. But now we're in a very, very different place. Incredible to think how far we've come.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: I think if anyone had said you'll still be here in two years time, I think we all would have just thrown ourselves in the Thames, wouldn't we? But hey, we are where we are in this.Kelly Molson: Well, I'm just glad I get to go back into London and see the Thames. That's exciting.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yay. Of course, yeah.Kelly Molson: So I do want to talk to you about a very unique challenge that you have. And I think what's really interesting, obviously we all know St. Paul's, I've such fond memories of St. Paul's. I think we spoke about this when we had a pre-interview chat. It's one of my dad's favourite buildings and it is absolutely stunning. I have such good memories of visiting it with him as a child and going up to the Whispering Gallery.Kelly Molson: I can remember having a... My rubber is not the only thing that I have from St. Paul's Cathedral. We had a beautiful puzzle. We used to do puzzles. That's a lockdown thing, isn't it? But it was of the dome of the Whispering Gallery, the beautiful pattern. A lot of people see it as a tourist attraction, which it is, but first and foremost, it's a place of worship.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yeah.Kelly Molson: And so I'm intrigued just to understand how you get that visitor experience right. For two audiences that are coming for very, very different reasons.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yeah.Kelly Molson: One to worship, one to look at the architecture, for example.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: The sightseeing. Yeah. And it is a really fine balance that we have to strike. I think the thing that we have to think about, is I come from a very commercial angle about, if we keep the building open then we allow worship to happen. And that's a really stark way of looking at things.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And I have some clerical colleagues who come from the other angle, which is this building is just here to worship. And we have to be very careful about what we do in order to raise the money. I think the first thing that we all sign up to is that we are respectful of other people's opinions and other people's beliefs and other people's needs.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So there is a chapel that you can go into. So to come to worship, to come to pray, that will always be free at St. Paul's. And there's a chapel that you can come into and set aside for private prayer. And you just announce yourself and you can go straight through into there and you can pray. Or you can come along to one of the Eucharists or you can come along to one of the bigger services. And you are there for free. There is no assumption that you would pay any money.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: However, what we do find is that worship and tourism aren't mutually exclusive. And that's something that the Dean and certainly the more pastoral colleagues I have, are really keen to point out, that you don't simply have to just be a tourist. You don't simply have to just be here to worship. You can come and worship and think, look at that amazing architecture. You can come as a tourist and think actually that's a really beautiful service. Or I'd like to listen to the words that's being said.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And as someone who isn't particularly religious, when you step into the space, you can appreciate the spirituality and the mindfulness of the building. It is an absolutely beautiful building. And there is a sense of still and calm when you go through. I think it's a lot in many churches I've been through, a sense of still and calm. That you don't have to be there specifically to worship to appreciate that you are in a place that is absolutely stunning and absolutely beautiful.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And I've seen some really amazing services. Some of the Christmas, we have the Consecration of Bishops. And they're absolutely joyous. And it's just amazing to see people just really enjoying being there and using the space, what it was intended for.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So the way that we look at things and the way that we market is that it's about the building. Yes, it's a place of faith, but it's also a place that's been at the heart of London, the heart of our nation for over 1000 years, not the same building. Building in that place. It's been there for over 1000s of years. And so it's part of our lives. It's part of our collective memories of things like Charles and Diana's weddings, or the Jubilee celebrations that we've got coming up.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So when we are looking to market the church, we talk about it being alive with stories, we talk about the hidden cathedral. So those places that you don't usually get to see on the tourist trail, that actually might also appeal to people who are worshippers as well. But there is a challenge, as a working church we stop for Eucharist at 12:30 every day, we stop for prayers on the hour, every hour.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: We have some big services, for example, the Consecration of the Bishops, which is not ticketed to the public, it's ticketed to the Bishops who are being consecrated. So we have to be closed to the public. So we have those challenges of how to work around that. We can't just simply say that we're open.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: The website has got some very complicated, but not at this time, messaging there. But actually again, that's part of the beauty of it. Why are we closed? This is why we're closed. This is what we're doing. This is what we're celebrating. So I find it's a challenge, but it's not as big a challenge I think, as you would expect.Kelly Molson: Does it bring any advantages or disadvantages with that as well? I guess that's really what we've spoken about in terms of the disadvantage of closing, and how can you explain why you're closed for certain things.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: I think the advantages are learning about why it's there. Learning about what St. Paul's is. And you can get married there. People get married there, people have their children baptised there. So when people find that out, oh, that's really interesting, how do I do that? So again, it's just opening up and unlocking those stories that I talked about. Unlocking the building for people.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: I suppose another challenge is that we can't be... This is a nation's church, we are the place where the Queen comes to worship. So what we can't do is we can't be provocative. We can't be aggressively commercial. We have to respect that this ultimately is a church. This ultimately is a place of worship. But the understanding also is there that we need to be commercial in some way, shape or form. It cost eight million pounds to keep St. Paul's Cathedral open.Kelly Molson: Wow.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Every year.Kelly Molson: Gosh.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So we need to raise that money. So when I'm talking about driving visitor numbers up, when I'm talking about driving income, it's not the detriment of the core values of what St. Paul's Cathedral is, that value of faith comes first.Kelly Molson: Yeah. And it's like you say, it goes back to that. It's a very fine line, isn't it? To try and keep everybody happy and everyone considered in those circumstances.Kelly Molson: Look into the future. Because we're all about future and positivity now. You've got the Platinum Jubilee Exhibition.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yeah.Kelly Molson: Opening the 25th of May.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: 25th of May, that is right. So it's all about all of the Jubilee celebrations that we've had at St. Paul's. So there are four of them, which are celebrating George III, Victoria, Edward, and the Queen herself, who will be having, it's her fourth celebration.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And I was in a really exciting multi-agency Jubilee meeting the other day for the actual service. So that was lovely again, to be part of, seeing St. Paul's opening up again and being part of these bigger services. But come along, it's going to be great.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So as part of HRL funding, which was when we were in lockdown, I got an audience development plan and pull together. And what we found was before the lockdown, almost 90% of our audience were international tourists and the remainder were domestics, but the reason the domestic market weren't coming were broadly because a bit like you, came with your dad when you were at school, you went up to the Whispering Gallery. What's the reason for coming again?Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So part of my engagement strategy is trying to put things into place, which encourage people to come back to St. Paul's and think of it a bit more of a return visit. So we've got kids go free happening this half term, we've got the Jubilee Exhibition going in this year, which runs on the 25th of May all the way through, hopefully into about Christmas. And then we're looking ahead to Wren 300 next year, which is going to be huge. That's the 300 anniversary of Wren's death.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So again, trying to think of some events that we can do on the cathedral floor, we've got our Summer Lates Program, which I'm in talks with a brilliant, a company to do partnership with some events with us. And maybe it's something a little bit more unexpected on the cathedral floor, but all bring it back to the idea of mindfulness about where we are. And we can't be too provocative. We can't be aggressively commercial. But actually, let's look at St. Paul's in a different way. Let's look at the architecture. Let's take our inspiration from the mosaics, from all the other wonderful things that we have there.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: So we are really looking forward to the Jubilee. It's massive for us and everyone's super-excited. Our guides doing guided tours, pulling those together. We've got our VA teams, are bringing some objects down to the cathedral floor for people to... Part of our handling collection. It's really something we're all pulling together for. I think after the past couple of years, this is just the joy that we need.Kelly Molson: Oh, yeah. It feels like a big celebration.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yeah, it does.Kelly Molson: It feels like it's really well-timed, isn't it? The Jubilee, and it happening. I feel it's going to bring everyone back together again.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: It will.Kelly Molson: I love the idea of the Lates. I'm very excited and intrigued to find out what's happening there. But you are right, it's been difficult, isn't it? For attractions that are predominantly international tourists that come. That must have been really difficult for you. And I think it's wonderful that you've now got this program where you are encouraging people to come back. I'm definitely going to come back and-Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Brilliant.Kelly Molson: And come and see the exhibition. I'm really excited to come and see that. And I'm going to bring my daughter.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yay.Kelly Molson: For the first time. It'll be her first trip to London.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Really exciting.Kelly Molson: Yeah. I just think it is one of those places that you do go to as a child and there needs to be that continuation of why you should come back. So very excited to see.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: We just need to... As I say, we're obviously restricted with many... We don't have an outside space really. We can't just put exhibitions anywhere. We can't be as reactive as some can. We do what we can.Kelly Molson: And do it beautifully as well.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Oh, thank you.Kelly Molson: So I always ask our guests about a book that they love.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Yeah.Kelly Molson: Now it can be something that you love. It can be something that's inspired you in your career. It can something that you love personally. What have you got to share with us today?Sandra Lynes Timbrell: I found this really tough, because I read all the time. And so choosing one book, I can't do that. So I came up with a couple and then I had to pair it down. So I've got the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which is absolutely brilliant. And then anything by David Mitchell. But I decided that the one I would tell people they had to read and if they could win it, they should, was Life after Life by Kate Atkinson.Kelly Molson: Oh, okay. I have not read this book. No.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: It's a story of a girl Ursula, who is born in 1910 and it's the multitude of lives that she goes through. So every chapter she has a different life. And the first chapter she isn't born and it goes all the way through, it goes through two world wars, where things happen to her or don't happen to her.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: And she begins to have this memory of what her life was. And she takes herself out of certain situations. And I just love it because it's this idea of... It's almost if you take that turn, that doesn't happen, but something else happens. And Kate Atkinson writes absolutely beautifully. So it's a really lovely book to read, just to think about, maybe if I'd opened that door I would've been over here, but here I am.Kelly Molson: Oh, I like that. It's got arching back a little bit to our little time-traveling question there at the beginning as well, isn't it?Sandra Lynes Timbrell: It is a bit, isn't it? I told you.Kelly Molson: A little trick to travel through history. Well, as ever listeners, if you want to win Sandra's book, if you go over to our literature account and you retweet this podcast announcement with the words "I want Sandra's book", then you will be in with a chance of winning it.Kelly Molson: It's been so lovely to have you on today. Thank you for sharing what I can imagine. And I felt it while you were talking, a very emotional and very challenging time. And so I'm very grateful that you were open to sharing that with us today, but I'm really excited about what's coming next with St. Paul's. And I think that there's lots of good things to be really, really positive about. And I'm looking forward to coming to see them.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Oh, looking forward to seeing you, it's going to be an exciting summer. We saw some international tourists yesterday, so it's all going to be okay.Kelly Molson: They're back.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: They're back.Kelly Molson: The world is open.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: It's all right.Kelly Molson: Brilliant. Thanks so much, Sandra.Sandra Lynes Timbrell: Thanks so much, Kelly.Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip the queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.

Joined by our good friend of the show Jason Hanley, Vice President of Education and Visitor Engagement at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to chat about the 2022 nominees. The Nominees for 2022 Induction are: Beck Pat Benatar Kate Bush DEVO Duran Duran Eminem Eurythmics Judas Priest Fela Kuti MC5 New York Dolls Dolly Parton Rage Against The Machine Lionel Richie Carly Simon A Tribe Called Quest Dionne Warwick To be eligible for nomination, an individual artist or band must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. Seven out of 17 of the Nominees are on the ballot for the first time, including Beck, Eminem, Duran Duran, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, and A Tribe Called Quest. This is Eminem's first year of eligibility. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame offers fans the opportunity to participate in the Induction selection process with the 2022 Induction Fan Vote sponsored by Ohio. Find It Here. Today through April 29, fans can vote every day at vote.rockhall.com, or at the museum in Cleveland. The top five artists, as selected by the public, will comprise a “fans' ballot” that will be tallied along with the other ballots to select the 2022 Inductees.

Episode 4: “Living” Kate, her husband Will, and their children lived and worked on Muddy Hole Farm. When her family suffered a tragedy, they drew strength from the kinship ties and friendships they shared with other members of Mount Vernon's enslaved community. In this episode, we examine daily life, culture, and religious practices of the enslaved people at the plantation. We also explore how on-going archeological work at Mount Vernon helps us piece together the enslaved community's lived experience and recover their voices when the written record falls silent. Featuring: Dr. Brenda Stevenson, Hillary Rodham Clinton Endowed Chair in Women's History, St. John's College, Oxford University Dr. Eleanor Breen, City Archaeologist, City of Alexandria Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz, Director of Collections and Visitor Engagement, Stratford Hall Plantation, and Director of Education and Historic Interpretation, Virginia's Executive Mansion Mary V. Thompson, Research Historian, Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington Dr. Jason Boroughs, Research Archaeologist, George Washington's Mount Vernon Dr. Marcus Nevius, Associate Professor of History and African Studies, University of Rhode Island Jessie MacLeod, Associate Curator, George Washington's Mount Vernon Full transcripts, show notes, and bibliographies available at www.georgewashingtonpodcast.com.

Episode 2: “Laboring” As an overseer, Davy Gray was entrusted by George Washington with the management of the enslaved laborers on Dogue Run Farm. His weekly reports to Washington revealed progress toward Washington's goal of transforming Mount Vernon into a model of British agriculture. But Gray was also enslaved, just like the men, women, and children he oversaw. In this episode, we explore Gray's complicated story to learn about the daily labor of Mount Vernon's enslaved community and Washington's relentless quest to make his plantation into a self-sustaining enterprise. Featuring: Jessie MacLeod, Associate Curator, George Washington's Mount Vernon Thomas Reinhart, Director of Preservation, George Washington's Mount Vernon Mary V. Thompson, Research Historian, Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz, Director of Collections and Visitor Engagement, Stratford Hall Plantation, and Director of Education and Historic Interpretation, Virginia's Executive Mansion Dr. Lorena Walsh, Research Historian Emerita, Colonial Williamsburg Dr. Bruce Ragsdale, Independent Scholar and former Director of the Federal Judicial History Office Full transcripts, show notes, and bibliographies available at www.georgewashingtonpodcast.com.

Jason Hanley Vice President of Education and Visitor Engagement at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio starts our coverage of the 2021 Induction week. We talk with Jason about the presenters which include Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Drew Barrymore and more. We also chat about what people can expect from the event, surprises and more. 2021 inductees include: Carole King, The Foo Fighters, The Go-Go's, Jay Z, Tine Turner, Todd Rundgren, Kraftwerk, Charley Patton, Gil-Scott Heron, LL Cool J, Billy Preston, Randy Rhoads and Clarence Avant. Stay tuned across the jrodconcert media channels for more. The Ceremony will on November 20 on HBO and stream on HBO Max alongside a radio simulcast on SiriusXM Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Radio (310) and Volume (106).

Emmanuel: Yeah. Alrighty. Hi! Lizzy: My name is Lizzie. Bobby: Bobby Pache. Andrea: Hi, my name is Andrea. Emmanuel: Emmanuel Santos. Emily Emily. Emmanuel: And I worked with the Visitor Engagement team. Lizzy: Here at MoMA PS1. Emily So the VE team is our Visitor Engagement team. And we're here to answer your questions and talk to you about art and have fun conversations. Bobby: You know, talking every day, being charming, et cetera. Andrea: It has shown me how long I can stand for one period of time. Emmanuel: I'd like to be in the coat room, having a nice place to sit while I draw, and then having people come over and bring their stuff, but then also notice me drawing and just like, "oh wow, you're an artist!" I'm like, "yeah, I am." Emily So we're going to go on a tour together through the museum to look at some art, but also some really special spaces. Lizzy: Some spaces that are special to us on the VE team. Bobby: Cool. Andrea: Nailed it. Emmanuel: Perfect.

Shirin Dehghan is a hugely successful entrepreneur, having built Arieso and sold it to JDSU. In part 2 of her podcast, we hear how she decided to take a year out before getting bored and subsequently gravitating back to the start-up ecosystem. She has made a number of angel investments, including a lesson inletting her guard down as she invested in a team she knew well. Shirin is now a senior partner at Frog Capital, where she sits on four start-up boards. A tip to entrepreneurs, “Don't turn up to a board meeting with a laundry list of problems without thinking of possible solutions. Your board will lose faith quickly”.  To read the podcast transcription please CLICK HERE - Powered by Speechmatics Shirin founded, expanded and subsequently sold mobile communications business Arieso. A University of Southampton Engineering alumna, she has over 20 years' experience in the software and mobile communications industry. She is a senior partner at Frog Capital where she sits on the board of Skimlinks. She is also the Non-exec Chairwoman of Opensignal, a UK based company that sets the gold standard for mobile experience globally.She is a passionate advisor and board member to companies wishing to transform their business. As CEO, Chairwoman and Investor leading start-up, medium size as well as blue chip companies to create new markets and build winning teams to bring disruptive products to the mobile industry. Taking a partnership approach with key stakeholders at board level, cultivating many close relationships to help deliver real value to customers. Shirin is the winner of numerous awards including Blackberry Woman in Technology, Best Woman in Mobile, Business Woman of the year 2013, and European Entrepreneur of the year 2013. Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter. Podcast links: Shirin Dehghan Arieso - UK-based startup that makes location-aware networking software to improve mobile carriers' network performance. OpenSignal - is the global standard for mobile experience trusted by consumers, and industry stakeholders. They offer a modern and proven way to measure mobile network performance. Frog Capital - invests in software enabled scale-up stage tech companies in Europe. SceneSkope - personalise Brand and Visitor Engagement across every digital experience. Making interactions unique and personal. Rovco - Use 3D to gain complete Ocean Insight. Our high-res MBES, 4K video and live 3D vision systems provide you with unmatched levels of measurable information, accuracy and clarity. 19 SEPTEMBER 2018COMMENT About Peter Cowley Peter Cowley, a Cambridge university technology graduate, founded and ran over a dozen businesses in technology and property over the last 40 years. He has built up a portfolio of 75 angel investments with nine good exits (including one that is 107X his investment and returned all the cash he has invested) and thirteen failures. He is a board member of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN), President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), former chair of the Cambridge Business Angels and was UK Angel of the Year 2014. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and is on the board of nine startups. Linkedin Peter's webpage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Shirin Dehghan is a hugely successful entrepreneur, having built Arieso and sold it to JDSU. In part 2 of her podcast, we hear how she decided to take a year out before getting bored and subsequently gravitating back to the start-up ecosystem. She has made a number of angel investments, including a lesson inletting her guard down as she invested in a team she knew well. Shirin is now a senior partner at Frog Capital, where she sits on four start-up boards. A tip to entrepreneurs, “Don't turn up to a board meeting with a laundry list of problems without thinking of possible solutions. Your board will lose faith quickly”.  To read the podcast transcription please CLICK HERE - Powered by Speechmatics Shirin founded, expanded and subsequently sold mobile communications business Arieso. A University of Southampton Engineering alumna, she has over 20 years' experience in the software and mobile communications industry. She is a senior partner at Frog Capital where she sits on the board of Skimlinks. She is also the Non-exec Chairwoman of Opensignal, a UK based company that sets the gold standard for mobile experience globally.She is a passionate advisor and board member to companies wishing to transform their business. As CEO, Chairwoman and Investor leading start-up, medium size as well as blue chip companies to create new markets and build winning teams to bring disruptive products to the mobile industry. Taking a partnership approach with key stakeholders at board level, cultivating many close relationships to help deliver real value to customers. Shirin is the winner of numerous awards including Blackberry Woman in Technology, Best Woman in Mobile, Business Woman of the year 2013, and European Entrepreneur of the year 2013. Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter. Podcast links: Shirin Dehghan Arieso - UK-based startup that makes location-aware networking software to improve mobile carriers' network performance. OpenSignal - is the global standard for mobile experience trusted by consumers, and industry stakeholders. They offer a modern and proven way to measure mobile network performance. Frog Capital - invests in software enabled scale-up stage tech companies in Europe. SceneSkope - personalise Brand and Visitor Engagement across every digital experience. Making interactions unique and personal. Rovco - Use 3D to gain complete Ocean Insight. Our high-res MBES, 4K video and live 3D vision systems provide you with unmatched levels of measurable information, accuracy and clarity. 19 SEPTEMBER 2018COMMENT About Peter Cowley Peter Cowley, a Cambridge university technology graduate, founded and ran over a dozen businesses in technology and property over the last 40 years. He has built up a portfolio of 75 angel investments with nine good exits (including one that is 107X his investment and returned all the cash he has invested) and thirteen failures. He is a board member of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN), President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), former chair of the Cambridge Business Angels and was UK Angel of the Year 2014. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and is on the board of nine startups. Linkedin Peter's webpage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shirin Dehghan is a hugely successful entrepreneur, having built Arieso and sold it to JDSU. In part 2 of her podcast, we hear how she decided to take a year out before getting bored and subsequently gravitating back to the start-up ecosystem. She has made a number of angel investments, including a lesson inletting her guard down as she invested in a team she knew well. Shirin is now a senior partner at Frog Capital, where she sits on four start-up boards. A tip to entrepreneurs, “Don't turn up to a board meeting with a laundry list of problems without thinking of possible solutions. Your board will lose faith quickly”.  To read the podcast transcription please CLICK HERE - Powered by Speechmatics Shirin founded, expanded and subsequently sold mobile communications business Arieso. A University of Southampton Engineering alumna, she has over 20 years' experience in the software and mobile communications industry. She is a senior partner at Frog Capital where she sits on the board of Skimlinks. She is also the Non-exec Chairwoman of Opensignal, a UK based company that sets the gold standard for mobile experience globally.She is a passionate advisor and board member to companies wishing to transform their business. As CEO, Chairwoman and Investor leading start-up, medium size as well as blue chip companies to create new markets and build winning teams to bring disruptive products to the mobile industry. Taking a partnership approach with key stakeholders at board level, cultivating many close relationships to help deliver real value to customers. Shirin is the winner of numerous awards including Blackberry Woman in Technology, Best Woman in Mobile, Business Woman of the year 2013, and European Entrepreneur of the year 2013. Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter. Podcast links: Shirin Dehghan Arieso - UK-based startup that makes location-aware networking software to improve mobile carriers' network performance. OpenSignal - is the global standard for mobile experience trusted by consumers, and industry stakeholders. They offer a modern and proven way to measure mobile network performance. Frog Capital - invests in software enabled scale-up stage tech companies in Europe. SceneSkope - personalise Brand and Visitor Engagement across every digital experience. Making interactions unique and personal. Rovco - Use 3D to gain complete Ocean Insight. Our high-res MBES, 4K video and live 3D vision systems provide you with unmatched levels of measurable information, accuracy and clarity. 19 SEPTEMBER 2018COMMENT About Peter Cowley Peter Cowley, a Cambridge university technology graduate, founded and ran over a dozen businesses in technology and property over the last 40 years. He has built up a portfolio of 75 angel investments with nine good exits (including one that is 107X his investment and returned all the cash he has invested) and thirteen failures. He is a board member of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN), President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), former chair of the Cambridge Business Angels and was UK Angel of the Year 2014. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and is on the board of nine startups. Linkedin Peter's webpage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

As the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame gets ready for the 2021 Inductee ceremony, Colleen Carew got the inside scoop on this year's Class of 2021 inductees from Director of Fan Engagement John Goehrke.

With her passion for perfume, Jessica Murphy uncovers the history and empowerment of scent. Jessica is a Scent and Art Historian and a Museum Professional.  She's always looking for new ways to connect art, fragrance, history and popular culture. Jessica shares the continuing results of her curiosity and research skills and along the way, she enriches the enjoyment of perfume. Since 2006, Jessica has been a contributor for the leading perfume blog Now Smell This. And what better name for her website than 'Perfume Professor'. Since late 2015 Jessica has taught and lectured about the history and culture of fragrance at venues such as the Brooklyn Brainery, the Brooklyn Museum, The Institute for Art and Olfaction and the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. Currently, Jessica is Manager of Visitor Engagement at the Brooklyn Museum. Before the pandemic, Jessica occasionally offered scent-themed tours. Prior to the Brooklyn Museum, Jessica worked as a Research Associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has also worked as a Contractual Educator at the Met and as a Curatorial Assistant at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Jessica received her B.A. from Fordham University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Delaware.  A conversation with Jessica Murphy... The beginning - religion or incense Festivals and seduction Commercial use Luxury and class Studio 54 That iconic fragrance Memories and scent

The second part of looking back at the awesome conversations that took place in the first year of Happy Hour with Steve Guy, 2020. Take a listen and get a feel for the variety of guests and discussions had each week on the show. On this episode: Ricky Smith - Comedian/Actor/Philanthropist, Founder of R.A.K.E. Dolph Ziggler (Nic Nemeth) - WWE Superstar, native of NEOhio David Huffman - Bitchy Vegan Homo Conrad Abel Miles - filmmaker, The Session documentary Kelly Dobeck - Meteorologist, Channel 19 News in Cleveland Zosimo Maximo - owner, GrooveRyde fitness in Cleveland, Filmmaker/tv producer Ben Roy - Comedian/Podcast Host/Actor, "Those Who Can't" on TruTV (now on HBOMax) Elliot Frank - Musician/Owner, Superscript Comics & Games Coyote Peterson - Wildlife adventurer, Host of Brave Wilderness on YouTube Jason Hanley - VP of Education & Visitor Engagement, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Chris Clem - Comedian, NEOhio native, former contestant of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Katie Morrissey - Comedian/Netflix writer, "Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine" --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/happyhoursteveguy/support

This is a very special edition of Happy Hour with Steve Guy as Jason Hanley, VP of Education & Visitor Engagement of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, swings by Happy Hour just ahead of the 2020 Rock Hall Induction Ceremony being shown on November 7th on HBO and HBOMax. The entire episode is an extended conversation dedicated to the Induction Ceremony and the Rock Hall celebrating 25 years of being open in Cleveland. Steve and Jason chat about this year's inductees and everything that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has been doing over the years and looking forward to do in the future. Follow on Facebook: facebook.com/happyhourwithsteveguy Instagram: instagram.com/happyhoursteveguy Twitter: twitter.com/HAPPYHOURwithSG Happy Hour with Steve Guy is a produced by Launchpad Productions and Cleveland Comedy Festival --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/happyhoursteveguy/support

Jamie is joined by Jason Hanley, the VP of Education and Visitor Engagement at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland to remember the late Eddie Van Halen.

John Goehrke- Director of visitor engagement at The Rock Hall of Fame celebrating the life of Eddie Van Halen

This week, we’re thrilled to welcome Jason Hanley, Vice President of Education and Visitor Engagement at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This is a fun, illuminating conversation about the museum’s mission and operations, public engagement, the perils of social media, and so much more. We also cover a wide range of music, from the Carter Family to Krautrock to Queen Latifah.

Ravi Trivedi is founder of PushEngage.com, a leading platform for Web push notifications globally, with customers in 150+ countries. Prior to this he built CouponRani, a leading coupon site in Southeast Asia. He is a growth marketer and has run online business in the US, and India, before building PushEngage.He also worked at Southeast Interactive Technology Funds, a $200 Million venture capital fund in North Carolina, USA, and as an Equity Analyst at Bank of America, in New York. Ravi completed his MBA from Duke University, Fuqua School of Business and has a master's in computer science from Indian Institute of Science.Topics covered in today's showThe journey from VC to entrepreneurHow he identified a gap in the market to build his SaaS companyOvercoming the early challenges of the MVP (Minimum Viable Product)Handling the online hackers who tried to take them downHow he handles pressure in the midst of adversityWhy he turned away business and whyHis contrarian decision not to raise money (though he is a VC)Tips on the development of "thick skin" in businessWhy website push notifications matter today and why you need themWhat matter to him most now today and in the futureConnect with Ravi TrivediLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trivediravi/ Twitter: @trivediraviFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/pushengageWebsite: www.PushEngage.comLike today's show? If so, be sure to subscribe to be notified so you never miss a show. If you had an ah-ha moment, we'd love to hear about it. Use the hashtag #themindshiftpodcast and tag Darrell using #mrdarrellevans on his social channels below.Connect with Darrell on Social Media:InstagramFacebookLinkedInTwitterNeed a business growth coach? Apply to with Darrell: www.darrellevans.netThis show is sponsored by The MindShift Podcast Store

In grocery store aisles and kitchens across the country, smiling images of “Aunt Jemima” and other historical and fictional black cooks can be found on various food products and in advertising. Although these images are sanitized and romanticized in American popular culture, they represent the untold stories of enslaved men and women who had a significant impact on the nation's culinary and hospitality traditions even as they were forced to prepare food for their oppressors. On February 27, 2020, Kelley Fanto Deetz delievered a Banner Lecture that drew upon archaeological evidence, cookbooks, plantation records, and folklore to present a nuanced study of the lives of enslaved plantation cooks from colonial times through emancipation and beyond. She reveals how these men and women were literally “bound to the fire” as they lived and worked in the sweltering and often fetid conditions of plantation house kitchens. These highly skilled cooks drew upon skills and ingredients brought with them from their African homelands to create complex, labor-intensive dishes such as oyster stew, gumbo, jambaya, and fried fish. Deetz restores these forgotten figures to their rightful place in American and Southern history. Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz is the Director of Programming, Education, and Visitor Engagement at Stratford Hall and teaches part-time at the University of Virginia. She works as a historical consultant for several museum sites throughout the Mid-Atlantic, and has partnered with National Geographic to work on projects related to Nat Turner. Her work is highlighted in National Geographic's documentary film, "Rise Up: The Legacy of Nat Turner." She is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Bound to the Fire: How Virginia's Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

We speak with Heritage’s Director of Visitor Engagement, Heather Mead and Manager of Public Programs Liz Fort about the upcoming event which happens on Saturday, July 27.

Kathryn Eccles (Oxford Internet Institute), gives a talk on her Knowledge Exchange research project on using social media data to understand visitor engagement at heritage sites. Kathryn Eccles, Oxford Internet Institute Dr Kathryn Eccles has been a Research Fellow in Digital Humanities at the Oxford Internet Institute since 2008. Kathryn is currently the PI of the Cabinet project, which has developed an interactive, mobile-optimised digital platform to support and encourage object-based learning. Kathryn’s research interests lie primarily in the Digital Humanities, ranging from the re-organisation of cultural heritage and higher education in the digital world and the impact of new technologies on Humanities scholarship and scholarly communication, to broader debates surrounding the human and social aspects of innovation and technological change. In 2014, Kathryn was appointed as the University of Oxford’s first Digital Humanities Champion, in which capacity she played a leading role in developing the cross-University Digital Humanities strategy, advocating for Digital Humanities within the University and externally. Building on the University’s strengths in Digital Humanities, Kathryn continues to develop and contribute to training provision for all career stages and facilitates the embedding of digital practices and methodologies into Humanities teaching and research.

This week on Roadkill Geraldo is taking you inside the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame with Greg Harris, CEO and President of the Rock Hall, talks with Geraldo about the history of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, how the city of Cleveland was chosen as the place to build the Rock Hall, and the various exhibits they have on display. Plus, they also talk about how the artists get chosen to be represented in the Rock Hall. Also, Jason Hanley, VP of Education and Visitor Engagement of the Rock Hall, joins Geraldo to talk about all the programs the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame puts on and some of his favorite moments in rock history.

The tract of land now known as Heritage Museums & Gardens played an important role in the history of the town of Sandwich. In 1677, Lydia Wing Hamilton Abbott was the first resident to live on the land. Since that time there have been a lot of positive changes. In today’s podcast, we zero in on 1969 and the creation of Heritage Museums & Gardens with Heather Mead, Heritage’s Director of Visitor Engagement and Jennifer Madden, Director of Collections & Exhibitions.

As we approach the end of the year, SOTA host, Andrew Herman, reflects on his favorite episodes from the podcast's first year in production. Today, we revisit Andrew's first episode as a host on State of the Art featuring Erica Gangsei, head of Interpretive Media at SFMOMA.-----In a city where the tension between artists and techies is palpable, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has pushed exhibitions, programs and projects that bridge the two spheres, like their inventive video series ARTIST CRIBS, their seamless museum app, and their experimental PlaySFMOMA initiative. Erica Gangsei, head of Interpretive Media at SFMOMA and a working artist in her own right, shares her thoughts on tech's place in the museum and the "art world" at large.-About Erica Gangsei-As Head of Interpretive Media at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Erica Gangsei leads a team of multimedia storytellers to create award winning digital resources such as audio tours, video interviews with artists, in-museum interpretive gallery spaces, games, and the podcast Raw Material. As a multidisciplinary artist, she is heavily involved in the Bay Area arts community, and has volunteered her time for organizations such as the Lab, Root Division, Headlands Center for the Arts and Adobe Books. Erica also has a passionate interest in games, and is the founder of the museum's PlaySFMOMA initiative, which presents pop-up arcades, game jams, lectures, workshops, and a game designer-in-residence series. She studied Philosophy and Fine Arts and Amherst College and Sculpture at the San Francisco Art Institute.Follow Erica @ericagangseiTweet her @ericagangsei

Classical KUSC's Brian Lauritzen has a conversation about LA Opera's youth Opera Camp with composer/director Eli Villanueva; the Autry Museum's Director of Education and Visitor Engagement, Erik Greenburg; and LA Opera's Vice President for Education and Community Engagement, Stacy Brightman.

The Insider spoke with Heather Mead, Director of Visitor Engagement, about the importance of outdoor discovery and education in Hidden Hollow.

In a city where the tension between artists and techies is palpable, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has pushed exhibitions, programs and projects that bridge the two spheres, like their inventive video series ARTIST CRIBS, their seamless museum app, and their experimental PlaySFMOMA initiative. Erica Gangsei, head of Interpretive Media at SFMOMA and a working artist in her own right, shares her thoughts on tech's place in the museum and the "art world" at large.-About Erica Gangsei-As Head of Interpretive Media at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Erica Gangsei leads a team of multimedia storytellers to create award winning digital resources such as audio tours, video interviews with artists, in-museum interpretive gallery spaces, games, and the podcast Raw Material. As a multidisciplinary artist, she is heavily involved in the Bay Area arts community, and has volunteered her time for organizations such as the Lab, Root Division, Headlands Center for the Arts and Adobe Books. Erica also has a passionate interest in games, and is the founder of the museum's PlaySFMOMA initiative, which presents pop-up arcades, game jams, lectures, workshops, and a game designer-in-residence series. She studied Philosophy and Fine Arts and Amherst College and Sculpture at the San Francisco Art Institute.Follow Erica @ericagangseiTweet her @ericagangseiCover Art by Graydon Speace

John Goehrke, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Director of Visitor Engagement, joins Nancy to talk about the 2018 inductees, the magic of the rock institution and its new Christmas playlist featuring the holiday music of legendary Hall of Famers. Read more in Nancy’s online column Showbiz Analysis for Parade Magazine.

Would George Washington enjoy surfing the web? Would he enjoy the idea of people touring his home? Would he prefer a virtual tour? This week, Nick sits down with Rob Shenk, the Senior Vice-President for Visitor Engagement at Mount Vernon. They discuss using new technologies to enhance the visitor experience and bring the story of George Washington to all. You'll also learn about how Mount Vernon is the root of all historic preservation in the country. This is PreserveCast. Listen here: https://www.preservecast.org/2017/01/30/rob-shenk-digital-marketing-strategies-at-mount-vernon/

Vanessa discusses Scoring the 2011 Super Bowl Commercials For Search Visibility and Visitor Engagement and discusses the AOL acquisition of the Huffington Post; Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis says it is Time To End The Content Farm Arms Race.