Innovation Workshop Reflections

Over the past 2 weeks, I've spent a lot of time in the Innovation Workshop. It has been an interesting experience and one that has been mostly positive. To understand the present, however, I have to go back to the past. 

The very first week the IWS was open included Labor Day weekend. With a staff of less than 40 hours of experience in totality (and with that experience on light days following the soft opening), we dealt with a massive deluge of weekend guests. It was pretty miserable and the normal full-time supervisors weren't there to assist. There were various difficulties: keeping the space presentable while it was mostly full, turning people away at the door while at capacity and being berated by guests who were insistent on experiencing the whole museum, having people sneak in or even steal projects, and simply dealing with more than a dozen people at a time. 

In the aftermath, I requested more time at the Innovation Workshop to really strive to improve my control of the space, and whether intentionally or by circumstance I've finally gotten it. I could get into specifics, but I'd rather make an analogy: I've learned how to better use some of the tools available and added a few to my toolbox. Furthermore, a significant amount of staff feedback has since been incorporated into the space, including some of my own. 

Of course, no day since Labor Day has been quite as intense, though on weekdays the Innovation Workshop reaches capacity once or twice, and much of the weekend is spent in that state. Furthermore, patterns have started to emerge: we now have guests and families that show up almost every day. Their confidence in navigating the room helps other guest find their way and stay comfortable. Their presence also makes the midday transitions from spark to spark a lot more smooth. 

Managers have also been diligent in helping break down the space after the shift ends, giving us time to provide feedback on the space and communicated with them our thoughts for that day. I've been able to speak with Linnea, Kevin, Danielle L., and Jennifer during these times and it really does make me feel heard. 

The most challenging types of guests I'd divide into two categories:

  • Those with a sense of urgency or some time restraint that want to experience everything in the museum. This can pose a problem in that they look for a directed activity or complain at the door that they can't get in (double points if they show up at 4:25 PM). 
  • Guests that lack respect for the space. This can manifest in several ways, from leaving their kids unattended, pulling down masks, taking existing projects with them when they leave, intruding the space when the stanchions are pulled shut, and so on. 
Unlike several other kinds of challenging guests I've had much better luck with, these I can't quite figure out. Though I've got a few go-to lines and talking points, they seem to fall flat a significant amount of time. I know that some Sparks have allowed late arriving guests to stay a few minutes over time. That isn't satisfying to me, though if it became official policy to close the doors at 4:30 and kick people out at 4:40, giving everyone at least 10 minutes, that might be an administrative solution. 

I've also had a recent challenge where I interacted with a guest and her mother who only spoke Spanish. I am fluent, but I struggled with the vocabulary of the crafting space. I'll have to brush up on that too. 

Well that's it for today. I hope that I continue to improve with respect to the Innovation Workshop!

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