Adrienne, I also prefer free museums and would like disadvantaged
people to have access to them. However, admission fees are essential for
many museums because there is no other way they can survive--this is a
simple reality. It's too bad that all good things can't be free for
everyone, isn't it? But you're setting yourself up for disappointment if
you expect a museum to be an "alternative" to a classroom experience.
IMHO, museums cannot be all things to all people: they may logically
supplement classroom education, but should NOT attempt to be an
"alternative" to it. In my further HO, I think that's nearly impossible.
  By the way, I wonder how many students spurn public education
precisely because it's free; sometimes people misconstrue "free" to mean
"of no value." --David Haberstich