Forty museums. Twenty-five years. One methodology — and Mark personally involved in every engagement from the first community assessment through post-opening evaluation.
Museum Planning LLC is a personal practice founded in 1999. That is a deliberate choice, not a limitation. Every engagement is worked directly — there is no associate who handles the day-to-day while Mark attends the kickoff meeting. When a board asks who they are hiring, the answer is: Mark.
The practice specializes in the full arc of museum development — feasibility through opening day. Community assessment, strategic planning, business planning and pro forma, master planning, exhibition design, capital campaign strategy, operational planning, and post-opening evaluation. More than forty museums over twenty-five years across science centers, art museums, natural history museums, children's museums, history museums, and cultural centers — in the United States, Mexico, and internationally.
Before founding Museum Planning LLC, Mark worked inside institutions at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, Liberty Science Center, Discovery Science Center, and the Children's Museum of Manhattan. He also served as Chief Operating Officer at a museum fabrication studio. That combination — staff experience, operational knowledge, fabrication reality — is what shapes how he plans.
The plans I produce are designed to be built, not filed. I have been on the other side of the table when a consultant delivers a master plan. I know what happens to that document when the meeting ends.
— Mark Walhimer, Managing Partner
The same process applied across every engagement — from a $2M university collection to a $28M regional cultural center. Bad feasibility is still fatal. A museum that can open is not the same as a museum that can stay open.
Before a single line is drawn, the museum needs a clear strategic foundation — why it exists, who it serves, and whether it can operate sustainably. The documents produced here are what boards, donors, and civic partners need before committing capital.
Translates institutional goals into physical space and financial reality. Produces the programmatic, experiential, and architectural blueprints that govern every construction decision. Structures the capital campaign required to fund the building and its exhibitions.
Builds the systems and infrastructure that keep a museum running financially, programmatically, and physically. Personnel typically accounts for 60% of a museum's annual budget. Rigorous pro forma modeling stress-tests the institution before capital is committed.
A successful opening is planned, not improvised. Covers grand opening strategy, early-stage community engagement, and the formal evaluation cycles that determine what is working and what must evolve. Post-opening assessment initiates the next strategic planning cycle.
Typical fee ranges listed so you know what ballpark you are in before we talk. Every engagement begins with a conversation — one hour, no cost, no obligation. All fees exclusive of travel.
| Service | Typical Range | What It Produces |
|---|---|---|
| Museum AssessmentStarting point · Minimum retainer | $18,000+ + travel | Current-state evaluation of institutional health, community position, and planning readiness. |
| Feasibility StudyBefore capital is committed | $40k – $70k + travel | Attendance projections, operating cost modeling, staffing requirements, revenue assumptions. The document that answers whether the museum can survive. |
| Strategic PlanningMission, vision, multi-year roadmap | $45k – $75k + travel | Mission, vision, and values framework with a multi-year strategic plan that keeps boards, staff, and funders aligned. |
| Museum Master PlanBuilding program through capital campaign | $100k+ + travel | Building program, floor plans, phasing, budget, and capital campaign structure. The document architects, contractors, and campaign chairs work from. |
| Exhibition DesignConcept through fabrication-ready documentation | $60k – $200k + travel | Content, space, sequence, interpretation — from concept through fabrication-ready CAD documentation and installation oversight. |
| Owner's Rep / PMConstruction & fabrication oversight | Variable per scope | Owner's representation through construction and fabrication — protecting the institution's interests, on schedule, within budget. |
From university natural history collections to city-led cultural centers — across the United States and worldwide. Full portfolio at museumplanning.com/projects.
+ 25 additional projects · museumplanning.com/projects
A proprietary 0–100 composite scoring framework where every metric is normalized for institutional size. A $500K museum with strong ratios can outrank a $25M institution.
Live Example — Connecticut River Museum · Essex, CT · FY2024
One hour. No cost. No obligation. Tell us where you are and what you are trying to build — whether that is a feasibility question, a capital campaign, a historic building looking for a mission, or a collection that has never been seen by the public. Mark is personally involved in every engagement and ready to begin within two weeks of an executed agreement.
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