The news from Kansas City is serious fun: Today, the Nelson-Atkins Museum there announced that it’s trying out two electric “Shuttlecarts” that will zoom through its galleries, ferrying visitors that need help navigating them. They will debut when Monet’s Water Lillies opens on Apr. 9, and they’ll use two different routes through the museum.
But N-A director Julián Zugazagoitia has already taken one of the carts for a spin (presumably he won’t be doing the driving on a regular basis; also, presumably, the riders won’t be as young as they are in this picture).
“The amazing growth of the Nelson-Atkins has sparked so much excitement that we want everyone to experience this entire Museum,” he said in the press release.
The Nelson-Atkins covers 23 acres, with 400,000 square feet of space in the Museum.
So, when Zugazagoita learned that some museum-goers were having trouble making the rounds, partly from R. Crosby Kemper, Jr., Chairman Emeritus of UMB Bank, the museum came up with the idea of carts. The Carter Community Trust eventually funded the carts in this pilot program on Kemper’s recommendation.
The carts are not “taxis,” the N-A said. They’ll traverse established routes, so they are more like buses. Nor do they provide a tour.
“To our knowledge, no other art museum offers this service,” said Mark Zimmerman, Director of Administration. “These carts are all electric, so there will be no noise and no pollution. They were thoroughly tested for vibration, and meet rigorous environmental and conservation requirements.”
I like the idea — in theory, at least. True, it’s annoying when, at some airports, carts toot at walkers and make them give way no matter how much luggage they’re carrying. But here, at least, visitors won’t be burdened that way.
And much of the focus in recent years at museums has been on the young; it’s also good to focus on the more mature.
Photo Credit: Mark McDonald, courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins.