Policies

Policies & Website Terms

The Museum of Us (‘the Museum’ or ‘MOU’) is a nonprofit organization operating in San Diego’s Balboa Park on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Kumeyaay Nation.

If you have any questions about these policies or your dealings with this Site, contact the Museum of Us at museum@museumofus.org or at 619.239.2001.

Expressive Activity

The Museum of Us operates in Balboa Park, a public park managed by the City of San Diego. Any expressive activity occurring outside and around the Museum falls under the regulations of the City. For more information, please refer to the City of San Diego Parks & Recreation department.

To maintain a safe and welcoming space for visitors and to avoid disrupting daily operations, expressive activity such as picketing or tabling inside the Museum’s walls is not permitted.

Photography Policy

Visitors are welcome to take photos and videos to document their visit and share their experience at the Museum. Non-flash photography and video recording are allowed in the Museum’s exhibits and California Tower for personal only. Personal use includes photos/video taken during a general visit in normal business hours.

Photographs and video content may not be published, sold, reproduced, transferred, distributed, or commercially exploited. Flash photography and the use of tripods, or additional equipment, is prohibited. Please be aware of gallery areas designated with “No Photography Allowed” signs.

Commercial, scholarly, and professional photography, such as wedding photoshoots, are allowed only with preapproval by the Museum’s Marketing department. Fees, permits, insurance, and other restrictions apply. To arrange a commercial, scholarly, or formal photo or video recording session, please contact marketing@museumofus.org.

The Museum of Us reserves the right to withhold or withdraw permission to photograph on the premises. Staff have the authority to approach and verify the intent of photography and enforce this policy.

The Museum of Us may photograph or videotape visitors for educational and promotional purposes. Attendance on museum property is implied consent for the use of visitors’ likenesses.

Social Media Policy

The Museum of Us is a place for all to reflect on the human experience, including in digital spaces such as the Museum’s social media channels – which include Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Threads. This Social Media Policy is placed and enforced to create an engaging and encouraging online environment.

We reserve the right to delete, or hide any of the following types of content, and block or restrict users who share such content:

• Violent, obscene, profane, sexually explicit, hateful or racist posts, links or images.
• Comments that threaten or defame any person or organization.
• Solicitations, advertisements or endorsements of any organization unrelated to the Museum, including contests or promotions.
• Successive off-topic posts by a user, spam, account impersonation and other repetitive posts duplicated by users.
• Content that violates the third-party platform’s Terms of Use, Terms of Service or Code of Conduct.

Posts, comments, and replies on Museum channels should be respectful and suitable for all ages.

The Museum is located in Balboa Park which is managed by the City of San Diego. Please contact the City of San Diego for any of the following topics:

1. Trash collection, recycling, and graffiti removal
2. Streets, sidewalks, and lights
3. Bicycle, scooter, and vehicle issues
4. Homelessness outreach and encampments
5. Trees and vegetation
6. Stormwater and drains
7. ADA Services
8. Sidewalk vendors and performers

Privacy Policy & Website Terms

The Museum respects the privacy of our online visitors. The Museum is the sole owner of information collected on this site, and we will not sell, share, or rent this information to anyone outside our organization without your permission. Under some circumstances, we may be required to disclose such information in accordance with the California Public Records Act or other legal requirements.

What information does the Museum collect about web visitors and what does it do with this information?

The Museum does not collect any specific personal information about website visitors—such as name, postal address, or e-mail address—except when such information is knowingly, and voluntarily, provided to the Museum thereby giving us permission to use that information to complete your inquiry or request. Personal information is obtained through program registration and e-mail newsletter subscription forms. Personal information is also obtained from online transactions such as ticket purchases and donations through Blackbaud, the Museum’s ticketing and donations platform of use. For monetary transactions, this information is temporarily stored until the transaction has been completed.

If you indicated on one of our online forms that you were interested in receiving Museum-related news and information, you will receive regular e-mails regarding Museum programs, events, and news. To have your name removed from this e-newsletter listing, please contact External Communications at marketing@museumofus.org.

Internet Protocol Address

We collect IP addresses from all visitors to our Site. An IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer when you use the Internet. We use IP addresses to help diagnose problems with our server, administer our Site, analyze trends, track users’ movement, gather broad demographic information for aggregate use for us to improve the Site, and deliver customized, personalized content. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.

Use of “Cookies”

Our Site may use cookies to enhance your experience while using our Site. Cookies are pieces of information that some Web sites transfer to the computer that is browsing that website and are used for record-keeping purposes at many websites. The use of cookies makes Web-surfing easier by performing certain functions such as saving your passwords, your personal preferences regarding your use of the website and making sure you don’t see the same ad repeatedly. Many consider the use of cookies to be an industry standard.

Your browser is probably set to accept cookies. However, if you would prefer not to receive cookies, you can alter the configuration of your browser to refuse cookies.

Security

Purchases and donations made to the Museum of Us are processed on Blackbaud. Blackbaud adheres to the stringent Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA DSS) by encrypting and tokenizing all card information. This encryption prevents sensitive credit card information from being seen as it travels to our servers, therefore making it difficult for anyone to intercept or decode messages exchanged over this secure connection. Credit card information is not permanently stored on the web server. Your order information is retained for our records, but is never shared with other organizations or people.

Blackbaud has also implemented additional payment security measures — such as fraud mitigation tools — that ensure your credit card information is, and remains, safe.

Other Websites

The Museum’s website contains links to other websites, both non-profit and commercial. Although every effort is made to ensure that all links are reputable and relevant, the Museum is not responsible for the content or practices that appear on these third-party sites. Once you leave the Museum of Us website, you are subject to the privacy policy of the website containing that document. We encourage visitors to review the privacy policies of any sites they visit to ensure their personal information is being protected.

Use of Information on the Web Site

All information including text, photographs, graphics, etc. are protected under the United States copyright laws. No materials may be copied, reproduced, distributed, displayed or downloaded without the written consent of the Museum of Us.

Acceptance of Terms

By using the MOU website, you agree to the terms outlined in these policies. MOU reserves the right to change these policies at any time, and changes posted on the website will be effective immediately.