So, just last weekend, we had a special event. It was none other than the Music of the Sphere! Musicians from around the globe (we even had some from Brazil) came to the Biosphere to play and song for us, as we offered an alternative method of tours the same day -- instead of having a tour guide drag a large group around, we instead allowed the tourists to freely wander through the biosphere and take as much time as they wanted.
To analyze how well this method worked, we had several research assistants ready to ambush unsuspecting tourists with surveys:
Lo and behold, we absolutely filled the drop boxes for the surveys to the brim! We certainly got all the feedback we wanted. :) The general impression we got, though, was that people preferred the free roaming method. However, the downside is that the free roaming method is labor intensive on the B2 employees -- it takes much more time and coordination, and occasionally you can get people going in really strange directions (some people did the tour completely in reverse).
The day was beautiful however...
... and we certainly weren't going to waste such a beautiful day!
The musicians were set up...
The researchers were ready...
... and it was time to make music!
... and I think it's safe to say that people enjoyed themselves!
All-in-all, it was quite an eventful day. The research assistants were running miscellaneous necessary jobs, the (normally) tour guides were stationary and provided knowledge to the tourists, Matt and some of the other administrators ran logistics and management, and the musicians made beautiful music. It was a tremendous success.
Alas, I got sunburned for enjoying the outdoors too much. But I don't think that'll be much of a problem... because it seems that both the public and the people enjoyed this style so much, that when special events occur, we may just try this style again.
Slideshow of the photos:
