Measuring What Matters: Museums, Well-Being, and the Real Value of Experience

What is the true value of a museum visit?
Is it in the collections behind the glass? The exhibitions on display? The educational programs? These are often the traditional ways museums have sought to define their worth—but what if we’ve been looking in the wrong direction?

At a recent Museums and Change webinar, our founder and CEO Dr. John Falk invited the field to consider a radical and deeply human reframing: that the real value of museums lies not in their tangible assets, but in the intangible—specifically, in how they support visitors’ well-being.

From Things to Experiences: A Shift in Thinking
Museums have long prided themselves on their stuff: artifacts, objects, archives, and architecture. But as John shared, in the 21st century, value isn’t primarily in what a museum has. It’s in what a museum does for people.

And what it does, it turns out, is a lot.

Drawing from decades of research, John explained that museums create experiences that are memorable, meaningful, and, perhaps most significantly, that enhance individual well-being. These aren’t fleeting feelings; visitors report emotional, social, intellectual, and even physical benefits that last well beyond the visit—sometimes for days or even weeks.

In fact, according to our findings, over 95% of museum visitors report experiencing some level of benefit across all four domains of well-being. Not only that, but the average perceived value of a museum visit clocks in at a staggering $400–$900 per person—a return on investment that far exceeds the average admission ticket.

Defining Well-Being—Through the Visitor’s Eyes
So, what does “well-being” actually mean in this context?

Here’s the breakdown:

• Personal well-being: A sense of identity, inspiration, or wonder. A visitor might leave feeling more like themselves, more creative, or more connected to the world.
• Intellectual well-being: Learning something new, gaining perspective, or satisfying curiosity. Museums empower visitors to make sense of the world and navigate it more confidently.
• Social well-being: Museums are spaces to be together—strengthening relationships, fostering belonging, and creating shared memories.
• Physical well-being: Even just the act of walking, decompressing in a calming environment, or enjoying time away from daily stressors can impact health and vitality.

What’s revolutionary about this approach is that these definitions come from the visitors themselves—not from staff, curators, or assumptions about what should matter. In this model, value is user-defined and evidence-based.

Making the Case—With Data and Dollars
The implications of this work are big. It’s not just about affirmation for museum professionals (though that’s welcome). It’s about changing the way we advocate—for funding, for policy, for practice.

Museums now have a tool to speak the language of policymakers and funders: dollars. When people perceive a museum experience as worth hundreds of dollars in personal value—and when that value can be tied directly to well-being outcomes—we’re no longer making a sentimental or cultural case. We’re making an economic one.

The data show that for every dollar spent operating a museum, communities receive six dollars in societal value. That’s a return on investment that rivals even the most high-performing sectors.

Practice, Policy, and Possibility
ILI’s findings offer a clear roadmap for the future:

• For Practice: Museums can use this framework to understand what’s working, amplify those experiences, and better meet the needs of current and potential audiences.
• For Policy: The well-being model gives us a way to talk about why museums matter to communities—not just as places of preservation or tourism, but as engines of health, equity, and collective thriving.
• For People: Ultimately, this research reminds us that museums serve humans. Not just visitors, but also staff and volunteers. These same well-being frameworks can guide more inclusive, empathetic internal practices as well.

Want to Join the Journey?
ILI’s work continues. Studies are currently underway at history museums across the U.S., and new partnerships are forming in countries like Canada, Taiwan, and beyond. And perhaps most exciting, museums that have participated in this research are already using the data to tell their stories more powerfully—to boards, funders, and communities. As John put it in the session: “People use museums to meet their needs. It’s not about the exhibit—it’s about what that exhibit allows someone to feel, think, or do.”

If your museum is interested in joining this growing effort to redefine and measure value, reach out to the Institute for Learning Innovation (connect@freechoicelearning.org). We believe the future of museums isn’t just about preserving the past. It’s about improving lives, today.

Let’s measure what matters.

Rewatch the session at AAM’s Museums and Change

Posted Mar 28, 2025