Special event and summer camp attendance helped Indiana outdoor history museum Conner Prairie achieve a record-breaking year in 2016.
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Norman Burns is president and CEO of Conner Prairie, one of the most-visited outdoor history museums in the U.S. The Smithsonian-affiliated museum is located near Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo: Business Wire)
A record crowd of 34,090 people attended the 33rd year of one of central Indiana’s most popular fall special events, Headless Horseman. The multi-night event in October offers haunted hay rides, spooky storytelling and fun family activities. A record 2,199 children ages 5-12 attended at least one week-long summer day camp at Conner Prairie last year.
"I arrived at Conner Prairie one year ago and since, I’ve had the chance to step back and see where we’ve been as an organization, study the direction we’re headed and work with my team to envision a new pathway for our continued success," said President and CEO Norman Burns at the museum’s 2017 Annual Meeting tonight. “We’re developing a new, 10-year master plan. Our dream is to explore the potential of our untapped resources, including the White River and the acres we own on both sides of its beautiful banks.”
Total attendance in 2016 was 391,261, up 4 percent from 2015, with daily general admission up 10 percent from the year prior. Membership grew by 9 percent to 7,947 households, including 37,606 adults and children and generating $704,000 in revenue. Members visited the museum 98,405 times in 2016.
| Additional noteworthy statistics: | ||
• | 19,751 visitors took a flight on a tethered helium-filled balloon | |
• | 50,808 students, teachers and chaperones visited the museum | |
• | $2.3 million was raised through gifts and sponsorships | |
• | Total revenue in 2016 was $11,118,691 | |
• | Expenses for the year totaled $11,108,749 | |
• | 375 adult volunteers gave a combined 21,658 hours of service worth an estimated $500,000 | |
• | 105 youth volunteers ages 10-18 gave a combined 20,328 hours of service | |
Also announced tonight was a pledge of $500,000 to Conner Prairie by Indiana-based Ricker’s Convenience Stores founders Jay and Nancy Ricker and plans for the museum to open a new, permanent and year-round maker’s space in 2018.
Spanning 800 wooded acres in central Indiana, Conner Prairie welcomes more than 390,000 visitors of all ages annually. As Indiana’s first Smithsonian Institute affiliate, the museum offers various outdoor, historically themed destinations and indoor experiential learning spaces that combine history and art with science, technology, engineering and math to offer an authentic look into history that shapes society today.
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