25 Random Things About Memberships!

By Clay Shannon, Memberships

McWane Science Center's Member Services decided to borrow a page from Facebook's 25 Random Things About Me to present 25 Random Things About McWane Science Center Membership:

1. McWane Science Center's 2008 Summer Camps had a record-breaking year with 1,300 campers. 82% of these campers were members

2. The members closest to McWane Science Center live only a block and a half away; the furthest members live 2,053 miles away in Hermosa Beach, California.

3. The 35242 zip code has the most members with 8.8% of our overall membership base

4. Our popular Itty Bitty Magic City exhibit is modeled after Busytown, one of our members’ favorite traveling exhibits and the only traveling exhibit to visit McWane twice.

5. McWane Science Center has a goal of 12,000 member families by December 31, 2011. [Shameless Plug: One way to assist us in reaching this goal is by participating in our 2009 Member Get A Member Campaign. Check out the latest Eureka! or Member eNewsletter for more information]

6. From the time you purchase your membership at the Ticketing Counter, we make sure that you receive your membership cards by mail in one week or less

7. According to a recent poll, members' Top 3 Favorite Areas of McWane Science Center are: (1) World of Water, (2) Just Mice Size and (3) The Itty Bitty Magic City


















8. Members' Top 3 Favorite Individual Hands-On Exhibits are: (1) the interactive butterfly and sand walls, (2) Bed of Nails and (3) Bernoulli Water Fountain

9. Introduced only two years ago, our GRANDPARENT Membership is the fastest growing membership level

10. 2009's New Member Benefits include 20% off in both our gift shop and cafe as well as $2 off all IMAX tickets for our FAMILY and GRANDPARENT members

11. During the school year, the building can get pretty crazy. The best time for members to avoid these large school groups is after 1 p.m. everyday. Also, Monday and Tuesdays usually have the smallest number of school groups

12. Over the last four years, the fastest-growing zip code for members has been 35173 with an increase of 119%

13. The most grandchildren on a single GRANDPARENT membership was 15

14. McWane Science Center includes a survey when mailing membership renewals. The results and comments from these surveys are compiled and distributed to employees. So keep those surveys coming!

15. This member feedback was one of the driving forces in the current renovations to convert the Movies Cafe into our new Smart Cafe, offering healthier food options to members and visitors alike

16. The most popular membership level at McWane Science Center is FAMILY with 73% of our total membership base

17. Although McWane Science Center's most successful summer exhibit for attendance was 2007's Bob The Builder, 2008's Itty Bitty Magic City was the most successful summer exhibit for membership

18. The least successful summer exhibit for membership? 2006's Moneyville

19. Another highlight from member feedback has been the new child-proof lock on the doorway in Just Mice Size, assisting parents to thwart the efforts of our youngest escape-artist members

20. In 2009, we are hoping to expand our Member Only events, including a Sleepin' With Tha Fishes camp-in in the World of Water this summer

21. One of our most popular events, Birmingham’s Member Day, will be on July 18th this year. New to the event this year are Birmingham Children’s Theater and the Birmingham Public Library. Stay tuned for more details

22. We are currently working on forming online focus groups, a.k.a. McWane Brains, to help us in the planning of future exhibits, IMAX film selection, camp offerings and improving the overall McWane Science Center experience. Look for more information in upcoming Member eNewsletters

23. Our next members-only event is Spring Break Ice Cream Hours, March 16th – 20th at 2:00 p.m. Come join us!

24. Sleek, newly-designed membership cards arrive next month

25. On behalf of all McWane Science Center employees and volunteers, thank you for your membership!

Contributor Profile:
When not working at McWane Science Center, Clay enjoys 8-bit Nintendo, standing up to moral injustice, bowling, the purple stuff (not Sunny D), osmosis, wax museums, origami, driving 5 miles below the speed limit, atlases, mass transit, puns, subtitles, TMNT and things that rhyme with “fiscal year”.