The CSPM staff is always interested to learn more about our visitors so we can better engage them. This past summer we asked visitors to self-report their home zip code. Of course, we had our own unique way of engaging the public. We placed a blackboard in our main lobby near the elevator and encouraged people to write in their home zip codes. People loved the tactile experience of writing on a chalkboard! The board would fill up in only a few days.
What did we learn from this? We collected data from mid-July through mid-August. At the start of each week the board would be refreshed. During that four-week period, we collected 767 valid U.S. zip codes plus a number of additional international locations and postal codes. Not surprisingly, Colorado was the top location with 29% of the entries. Among the other top responses were Texas, California, Arizona, Illinois, Florida, and Pennsylvania. These states represented 26% of responses. A total of forty-four states were represented. The only states not included in this sampling were Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. Clearly, Colorado Springs needs a marketing initiative in New England! We plan to revisit this data collection effort next summer.
