Wyoming’s museums are a big contributor to the state economy. In fact, Wyoming relies on the sector more than most states, fourth most in the country according to a recent studyby American Alliance Of Museums in conjunction with Ox, ord Economics. Washington D.C., Alaska and Hawaii are the most reliant states. The study shows that these states’ economies rely heavily on the museum industry. This was measured by a location quotient or L.Q. said Rob Stein, the Executive Vice President of American Alliance of Museums.
A L.Q. of one means the state’s museum economy impact is average.
“An L.Q. that's significantly above one, like the state of Wyoming, has more of an impact from museums than the average state does.”
Wyoming's L.Q. is 1.8. Stein said it wasn’t surprising that such remote states like Wyoming were on the top since their definition of a museum includes national parks, historical sites and zoos.
“The West, Wyoming in particular, have a lot of history of our nation and much of that is held in national parks so I think that also relates to Hawaii and Alaska,” said Stein.
Next week, museum representatives from all over the nation, including Wyoming, will travel to Washington D.C. to appeal to representatives for continued funding for museums and parks across the nation.