To the Editor: If I were the Director of the Shoreline Historical Museum

Editor,

I am not the Director of the Shoreline Historical Museum, yet I find myself imagining my course of action if I were. Here’s what I would do:

1. Talk to Shoreline families and see what they want since my friends and museum members would probably tell me what I want to hear. My survey would ask: whether families have been to the Museum and why or why not; what they think of the facility; and what they think of the several options for our future.

2. Seriously consider all options on the table.

• Having the museum in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood is potentially exciting. What if families could stroll for coffee after a visit to the museum in the Richmond Beach neighborhood? Or similar in the North City area?  
• Being on the ground level of the Ronald School in its present location is a great possibility. As director, I would have marketing slogans already in place: Grounded in History, History is our Foundation.  
• Listen to all ideas presented, no matter who presents them.
  

3. Speak with other Museum Directors about their own changes. MOHAI is being displaced by the expansion of 520, and based on their research, chose a South Lake Union location. The Nordic Heritage Museum occupies a 1907 elementary school, yet they are planning a new facility. The Lynnwood Heritage Park is a combination of historic structures from other locations.

4. Convene the Board of Directors to make a decision that is best not only for the Museum but for the community at large, including the students and parents in Shoreline. Immediately begin a cost analysis.

5. Plan a campaign to publicize the plans and boost the community support and financial well being of the museum. Borrow the powerful building metaphor to promote a revitalized, more accessible museum. Use projections and community momentum to double or triple our membership.

6. Since the space might be decreased, convene the Museum Board of Directors to come up with a five-year plan of revolving exhibits to ensure that people will keep coming.

Marianne Stephens
Shoreline