That was the message handed out on Monday by the consultants hired by the US Space & Rocket Center to figure out why camp attendance has declined steadily over the past few years.
For more than five hours Monday, the bosses of U.S. Space Camp heard what others think about their business. They listened as both in-house managers and hired consultants presented results and recommendations from recent surveys aimed at finding out how to reverse a decade-long decline in camp attendance.
The bottom line: Spend more money to spread the word about Space Camp and what it can mean to children.
The Huntsville Times has a wonderful piece of coverage on the results of the meetings as well as a rundown of the information the survey generated.
Personally, from the standpoint of a camper, I think the outcome is somewhat a mixed bag. On one hand, the USSRC will probably spend a great deal more on advertising in an effort to get word out about Space Camp (a long overdue measure). On the other hand, if they blindly follow what they think the results say, we’ll see a greater emphasis on shorter duration programs.
I’ll guess we’ll just have to sit back, watch, and hope for the best!