New Thinkery CEO Troy Livingston said he intends to help the former Austin Children’s Museum graduate to becoming a new science hub that caters to all age ranges.
Thinkery CEO Troy Livingston took over the museum’s top spot in August, relocating from the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina.[/caption]
“We want kids to be able to come in here and re-engage with the same exhibits across their developmental lifespan. So they discover new things because they’re at a different point in their development, and they realize new outcomes,” said Livingston, who took over the Thinkery’s top position Aug. 28. He relocating from the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina, where he worked as vice president for innovation and learning.
During his previous tenure, he helped craft interactive learning experiences now being used at multiple museums throughout the country. He said he hopes to create similar hands-on exhibits at the Thinkery that will appeal to children, teens and adults alike.
“In an age where pace of change is increasing and will continue to increase, experiences like these are really fundamental for everyone,” Livingston said.
The Thinkery, which has a core audience of age 11 and younger, already has programs geared toward teen volunteers who can eventually become museum employees. There is also Thinkery 21, a quarterly adults-only program that includes beer and exhibits catered to a specific learning topic.
His goal is to also build upon the inclusiveness created through programs that bring lower-socioeconomic students to the museum free of charge. For example, each Wednesday evening is community night during which attendees pay by donation only, and there is also an open-door initiative that allows families access for no admission.
“It’s a commitment very few museums across the country make because it’s scary—how do we pay for this?” he said. “But to me, the benefit of doing that is bigger than the risk.”
And only two years after the museum opened, Livingston is already looking into ways to expand the 12,500-square-foot Thinkery to accommodate more permanent exhibits that would appeal to all ages.
“Austin needs more of these cultural amenities than it has,” he said.
Attendance at the Thinkery in its first year totaled 550,000 people, according to Livingston, before dropping to 440,000-450,000 in 2015. That is not as much of a dropoff as museum staff initially predicted, he said.
“But we’re also OK with a little bit of a decline because the experience is a higher one when we’re not slammed,” Livingston said.
This story has been updated to reflect the correct age demographic of the Thinkery's core audience.
