As marking period two draws to a close, the majority of Museum School clubs have taken a noticeable drop in attendance. Club leaders and members alike reported a lower weekly turnout, which presents a threat to the future stability of many clubs.

Held in October, Museum School’s annual club fair promotes interest in Museum’s many extracurricular activities, especially for newly admitted freshmen seeking to participate in their community. However, three months later, much of this initial wave of interest has died down. 

Ms. Rivera, advisor for both the Women’s Empowerment Club and Community Service Club, explained, “I have noticed a dip, however, historically there is always a dip in the middle of the year. Usually it’s due to exams, other extracurricular activities, sports, and honestly cold weather–people wanna go home–so this is a normal occurrence.”

Violet Cole, a Museum School junior and co-president of the Animal Rights Club, added that “As the year progresses, the workload gets heavier and I understand why some people can’t stay after school.”

This decline is having a measurable impact on many existing clubs. Junior Gavin Swaby, president of the school’s Guitar Club, stated, “We don’t have the same energy as a group to continue coming into club and practicing.” The resulting lackluster club sessions in turn create a feedback loop which drives down interest in the club, and therefore club attendance as well.

This lack of participation has even suspended some clubs altogether. According to Sadie Stoller, a freshman on the Museum School cheer team, “We are forced to put cheer club on pause until we can find at least 12 people and become an official club, and hopefully an LMU (Lab Museum United) Sport in the future.”

As club attendance drops, many club leaders and faculty advisors are brainstorming ways to promote their clubs and grow their member count. One prospective LMU league has even branched out into Lab. Stoller explained, “We even reached out to NYC Lab High School in hopes that some of their students would join our club to eventually become an LMU sport.”

League of Colors co-president Aoife Moriarty mentioned “targeting the freshmen who don’t know all of the clubs” as a solution to expand the reach of the club.

Several clubs have taken to social media to boost interest across the school. Cole said, “I try to post on our club’s Instagram and Google Classroom to remind members about meetings.” Many clubs already have their own dedicated Instagram pages, including the Sustainability Club, Animal Rights Club, Women’s Empowerment Club, the Archive Literary Magazine, several LMU Sports Leagues, and even The Gallery.

Ms. Rivera also emphasized the importance of schoolwide events in garnering interest. “The Women’s Empowerment Club holds events in March because it’s women’s history month–we’re gonna hold an in-person Q&A with professional women from different work backgrounds,” said Ms. Rivera.

Ms. Rivera encouraged Museum School students of all grades to get involved in the community. “We have so many—we have over 20 clubs, and we are always open to starting new ones.”

Moriarty also urged students to join extracurriculars. “Joining clubs is very helpful, I totally recommend it. It can help you make friends, it looks good to future schools, and ultimately it does really help the high school experience.”

While club attendance typically peaks in the fall, levels are expected to recover following Regents Week as students adjust to the new marking period and the Spring semester. Meanwhile, club leaders, members, and advisors all encourage students to join clubs and become active members in the Museum School community.