U of M contest gives high schoolers keys to Manitoba Museum

LOCAL business leaders are getting free advice from gen Z consumers as part of a now-annual outreach program run out of the University of Manitoba.

The Asper School of Business hosted its third high school case competition prior to the winter break.

This year’s contest, its largest yet, invited 80 students from 13 public and private schools to brainstorm hypothetical solutions for the Manitoba Museum.

The teens were tasked with creating their own consulting firms and coming up with plans to help the popular field trip destination stay out of the red.

“We have a challenge here as a non-profit — how do we bring in large blockbuster exhibitions and keep them affordable?” said Rhiannon Leier Blacher, who oversees the museum’s marketing, sales and visitor experience initiatives.

Leier Blacher noted the museum was unable to break even the last time it hosted a major travelling exhibit in Alloway Hall.

Ultimate Dinosaurs, which was brought in to showcase the prehistoric creatures who once walked the terrain of South America and Africa, drew far fewer visitors than expected in 2022. Poor ticket sales resulted in a loss of nearly $300,000.

The students were presented with this dilemma, as well as the museum’s general operating costs and revenue streams, in early November.

They had four weeks to strategize and prepare a presentation for a panel of judges, one of whom was museum CEO Dorota Blumczynska.

“Holding more events in the museum, such as having pop-ups, would really help bring more attention to it,” said Calyssa Eng, a Grade 12 student at Balmoral Hall.

Eng’s all-girls squad took the top prize, which included a trophy, U of M merch and a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum.

The runners-up hailed from Pembina Trails Early College and Kelvin High School.

Balmoral Hall students won over judges with the feasibility of their pitch — the museum’s marketing director said its contents mirrored real discussions that took place.

The girls urged the non-profit’s leadership team to focus on two key initiatives to attract new attendees and keep regular visitors coming back.

They suggested leaders create a rotating series of evening events and revamp an existing loyalty program to offer members exclusive access, along with new rewards.

The Manitoba Museum would benefit from positioning itself “as a year-round social destination,” the students wrote in their presentation.

Eng and her peers found inspiration from the Royal Ontario Museum’s sleepovers and Nature Nocturne, the Canadian Museum of Nature’s nighttime transformation into a multi-level music venue.

Asper school’s case competition coordinator, Steven Harrison, said the contest has become his favourite because of its far-reaching impact.

Introducing high schoolers to post-secondary business education, working with local organizations and offering free consulting “warms my heart,” he said.

“Manitoban businesses have interesting stories to tell, so this is a way for us to get those stories out there,” said Judith Jayasuriya, a business instructor who oversees Asper’s experiential learning programs.

It also gives current U of M students an opportunity to show off what they’ve learned to date, Jayasuriya said.

Chiara Trozzo, a second-year business student at U of M, was among the volunteer-mentors who helped facilitate the event.

Trozzo, 19, put her name forward because she wanted to help younger students participate in something that’s proved transformational for her resumé and overall confidence.

“It’s helped me with teamwork, real-world business problem solving, working under pressure and the ability to look at things from a different lens,” she said.

Trozzo said she was proud to have played a part in helping members of the winning high school team build those skills, too.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca