Sciencenter
Policy on Official Spokespersons, Media, and Surveys
Speaking to the Media. The following four individuals shall serve as official
spokespersons for the Sciencenter to media, government officials, and other external
entities:
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

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Director
Associate Director
Public Relations & Media Manager
Chair, Board of Trustees
Exceptions include specific events coordinated by others or situations where another
person has been specifically authorized to make public statements.
To ensure consistency and correctness of information, all staff, trustees, advisors, and
volunteers should use good judgment in making any public or private statements on
behalf of the Sciencenter.
Media Visits to the Sciencenter and Off-Site Events. The following guidelines apply:

Media representatives must check in at the front desk (or other pre-designated
check-in area) upon arrival at the museum or an event.

Media representatives should first contact a member of the Advancement Team
for approval before scheduling to photograph, videograph, record, or interview
Sciencenter members or visitors on-site.

Before any image or recording of a Sciencenter visitor may be published, aired,
or otherwise made public, a consensual release form signed by the visitor (or
parent/guardian, if the visitor is a child) must be obtained. A copy of this form
must be filed with the Sciencenter PR manager.
Surveys. The following guidelines apply:

To conduct a survey at the Sciencenter, the surveyor must first obtain approval
(written or email) from the Advancement Team.

The Operations Dept. must review the survey prior to approval being granted.

The survey must not be overly intrusive, long, or in any other way decrease the
positive experience of Sciencenter visitors.

Permission to conduct surveys may be declined if the Sciencenter is in the
process of conducting its own visitor or member survey.
Examples
1. Accident: There has been an accident at the museum and a board member is
approached for information by a reporter with whom he serves on another non-profit
board. In this case, the board member should defer to one of the four official
spokespersons listed above.
Commentary: Legal and insurance issues may be at stake, and it would be inappropriate
for a board member to speak without knowing the background and how what he/she
says might affect the museum.
2. Grant: A major NSF grant was received and a reporter contacts a staff member
associated with the project for information about the nature and amount of the grant.
In this case, the staff member should defer to one of the four official spokespersons
listed above.
Commentary: The Sciencenter avoids announcing grants publicly under a major portion
of the work has been completed. The staff member might not know this.
3. Survey: A group of students saying they represent the Chamber of Commerce
appear in the lobby on a Saturday morning with clipboards to do a survey they say
they were instructed to do. In this case, they should be told that: 1) in general, we are
happy to help with such surveys; 2) we have a policy that all surveys must be approved
beforehand; and 3) they must bring the survey to the Advancement team for review and
approval before it can be used at the Sciencenter.
Commentary: Occasionally, surveys are too long or have questions that are
inappropriate for Sciencenter guests. We want to ensure that all surveys, whether
internally or externally generated, will not negatively affect the experience of our guests.
Approved by the Board of Trustees 3-7-2005
Rev. 1-18-2008