Survey Results: Here’s What Our Members Have to Say 

Each year, we survey members to help us understand what families appreciate about the museum, how much they value their member benefits and how we might improve the membership experience.

We’re always blown away by the number and quality of responses. Member families are generous with their time, passionate in their feedback and clearly invested in the museum.

When we sent out the annual survey last week, more than 800 current and recently expired members responded within 24 hours. We’re now at more than 1,100 responses.

Here’s a huge “Thank you!” to everyone who completed the survey.

The feedback we receive from this annual survey is invaluable. And, considering what a challenging year we’ve all endured, we found this year’s data especially interesting and compelling. So this year, we’re sharing the survey results.

Here are some of the most interesting takeaways from this year’s member survey.

Overall Satisfaction

Most of our current members are happy with their membership. When asked on a scale of 1 to 10 how likely they’d be to recommend a museum membership to a friend or colleague, 62% said 9 or 10. Nearly 7 in 10 current members say they are likely or very likely to renew when their expiration date approaches.

Covid & Child Vaccinations

Covid and vaccinations remain top of mind and continue to shape the behavior of many member families.

• More than 40% of respondents said their family has not visited the museum since the pandemic began in March 2020.
• A third of those who have not visited cited avoiding Covid as the top reason for staying away.
• More than 20% of non-visitors said they won’t visit the museum until everyone in their household, including children, is vaccinated.
• Nearly half of recently expired members and 43% of current members said they did not renew or do not plan to renew their membership because they are waiting for their children and/or most kids in the region to get vaccinated.

We’re always happy to welcome families who are comfortable visiting. Being forced to close twice during the pandemic was difficult – and reopening with various restrictions in place was challenging for the museum and our visitors. We understand and appreciate that many member families aren’t comfortable visiting yet. To those families, we say, “We’ll be here for you when you’re ready!”

Visiting Other Attractions

No surprise here. During the pandemic, members have visited outdoor attractions more often than indoor attractions.

Visiting Downtown St. Paul

The survey asked for opinions about coming downtown. More than 70% said they somewhat agree or strongly agree with the statement “I’m comfortable going to downtown St. Paul with my family.”

Still, some families do have concerns about traveling to downtown St. Paul. When asked about the statement “I worry about crime or other safety issues when I think about going to downtown St. Paul,” 37% responded that they somewhat agree or strongly agree.

Parking downtown remains a barrier, with 60% of respondents saying they’d visit the museum more often if parking was cheaper. Half said they would visit more often if parking was easier.

We’re so grateful to all of our members that took the time to give us their feedback. Learn more about becoming a museum member at mcm.org/join.