Its been a good year for the DesBrisay Museum.
Since launching its new phase – deemed Museum 2.0 – the museum has seen over 8,000 visitors this year, double the number of 2018’s visitors.
The new phase expanded on what a traditional museum could be, adding programming, exhibits and community events with a focus on culture, heritage and art.
Lynette de Montreuil, Museum director, said they even removed entrance fees, instead installing a donation box.
“That was so that as many people as possible could access the site,” she said.
“It would allow for everyone to participate and remove any financial barriers for people coming in and engaging with the museum.”
She said opening up for community events such as Bikers in the Park has helped bring new demographics to the museum who maybe hadn’t visited before.
De Montreuil said the changes came after she did some offsite outreach to figure out what the community would like to see in a museum.
“People really wanted a hands on experience and wanted to learn something,” she said.
“They wanted to come and have some sort of engaging interaction while at the museum.”
Heading into the new year, they are looking at ways to expand into the community by setting up events and exhibits outside of the museum.
