Museum director reports visitor gains, security upgrades and plans to expand education programs

Lynn Harshman, director of the county museum, told the Baker County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 3 that the museum installed a new security system this year, expanded hours and exhibits and saw a measurable increase in visitors tied in part to recent marketing.

Harshman said the museum installed more than 40 cameras, magnetic door locks and steel doors on a balcony as part of a security overhaul. She reported the museum reopened March 24 for the season and had 151 visitors in the first week; school tours were down this year (reported 357 students compared with historical counts that often exceed 700), while senior and Airstream group visits rose to 501. A billboard that went up July 1 in Ontario was credited with contributing to an increase of more than 2,200 visitors since the exhibit opening, and the museum's weekend openings around a town festival drew double typical weekend traffic.

Harshman described volunteer and staffing successes, including a teen museum guild that grew out of summer-camp recruits, and said volunteers and temporary staff expanded hours and helped boost attendance. She said the museum plans to create a children's corner in the ballroom and is considering hiring an education coordinator in the next year; membership programs will be reviewed to add more donor benefits. Harshman said the museum is also working on backlog cataloging and will consider divesting items that lack relevance to Baker County.

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Commissioners thanked Harshman for the update. Staff from the tourism committee offered to share geofencing data from the billboard campaign to help the museum track visitor origins and measure marketing impact.