The Peytonville Science Museum was a labor of love for various high school teachers who were interested in promoting science to the general public. When they finally opened, they got a decent article in the local paper, but were surprised during the first week to find that their actual attendance rates were only about twenty percent of what they might have expected.

Their biggest concern was simply that they weren’t getting the exposure they thought they deserved. There was a well-known attraction across town that was attended by thousands of people. It had roller coasters and all kinds of water rides and the usual rides that brought in so many people and so much money.

They were convinced that if more people knew what they had to offer, they would want to see more than just the big amusement park. There were a lot of kids in particular who would want to see what a science museum had to offer.

They decided to call someone they knew who might be in a position to help them: a salesperson from a full-service printing company that was located a block from their new location. They called him and invited him to see his new location.

He looked at their overall effort and concluded that the best way forward would be a newsletter program. He didn’t even know what he was talking about, but he explained the basic concept: very cheap advertising in remote locations where there was a lot of foot traffic. People came and looked at the shelves and if they found something that interested them, in many cases they changed their plans to go see.

The keys to making it a success would be to go to restaurants, truck stops and all kinds of tourist businesses located near the big attraction, and find places where they can put up advertising cards. There were many places like that, and there really wouldn’t be anyone who didn’t want to support an educational project.

The seller wrote down all the relevant information and took a couple of days to work something out. When he brought it back, they were impressed. He had taken information about various exhibits at the science museum and used them to arouse curiosity and generate interest.

Pleased with the initial effort, they ordered several thousand, making the trip up and down the highway corridor making sure they were well represented in as many places as possible.