Based upon 199 random sample visitor surveys
Percentage of visitors who were members of the WWII generation:
34%
Average age of all visitors: 56 years.
Oldest sampled visitor: 96 years.
Percentage of all visitors that were veterans: 42% (though not all of WWII)
Average size of visiting party: 6.5 people
Average number of children in party: 1.5
Average number of days at the Reunion: 2+ days, visit of 6 hours
Ethnicity/race: 80% white, 20% non-white
Visitors state: approxmately 10% from California; visitors mirrored the population of U.S. states pretty closely-- That is most came from, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, etc., with extra large contingents from Illinois and Washington.
Virtually all visitors knew about the Reunion ahead of time via brochures, television, newspaper, magazines, word of mouth and the Web.
Asked about whether the Reunion was a way to learn about the WWII era, 63% strongly agreed (the rest agreed)
Asked about whether the Reunion increases appreciation of the WWII generation, 76% strongly agreed (the rest agreed)
Asked about whether the Reunion is a good activity for the Smithsonian to do, 77% strongly agreed (the rest agreed)
Asked "Overall, how would you rate your experience at the Reunion?"
0% poor
2% fair
17% good
48% excellent
32% superior
Best things about the Reunion:
of the 188 people responding (some visitors mentioned more than one thing)
48% said the "Reunion overall"
21% said hearing stories
13% said music, song, dance
11% said the meetings (among vets, intergenerational, etc.)
11% said the displays of military equipment
9% said the honoring/recognition of veterans
5% said leaving/getting messages
5% said the diversity of programming
5% said the site
and many other responses with less than 5%
Worst things about the Reunion:
of the 199 respondents in the survey, the following percentages indicated worst things
8% lack of parking
8% bad weather (hot, humid, raining, cold)
7% amount of walking
3% poor toilet facilities
3% poor wayfinding (lack of signs, clear maps, etc)
and a few others with less than 2%