Byron Johnson's tale of the Whydah/Pirate museum and his subsequent
discussion reminded me of an alienating experience I had when I visited
Houston not too long ago.  I was in town on museum business and had a half
an afternoon to myself before my flight left.  I decided that I *should* go
see The Sixth Floor since I,  like many others, remember indelibly, exactly
where I was, what I was doing and how I felt when JFK was shot.   When I
got there, I found, to my amazement that the charge to get in was much
greater than any museum I've ever been to (and I've been to a lot).  Being
low on cash, I thought, thank heavens I've got my AAM membership card with
me, so I presented it to the ticket seller (who was behind a window -
similar to a movie theater ticket seller window).  My AAM card got a snear
- and a nasty response when I asked if she was sure that the AAM membership
was not accepted.  On principle, I would not pay the exorbitant fee and was
therefore denied - or denied myself - the educational experience that for
me was personally and emotionally linked with American History in a rather
profound way.   I have to admit still being confused by my indignation - I
think I would have no problem paying if I knew upfront that this was not a
"proper" museum.  In light of Byron's comments (below) I wonder what others
think?
 
 
>              Commercial amusements are entering this game in ever greater
>numbers, or reinventing themselves as "educational" facilities. SeaWorld in
>Orlando produces spiffy educational materials for classes and EPCOT Center
>has many exhibits that might be classed as educational. If the public has
>those, and is willing to pay $20 or more to get in, who needs a "real"
>museum. As Matt Roth in L.A. noted, when museums have to play this game
>collections management, conservation and scholarship are usually abandoned
>along with programs for the underprivileged.
>
>        I have nothing against the for-profit exhibition world, but there
>has to be some definition of terms. After much agonizing I asked my board
>to change our name from "museum" to "center," in part because of the
>negative attribution and confusion about the term "museum."  Perhaps one of
>the most telling proofs is a recent State of Florida survey on tourism and
>historic sites and museums. It found that MOST of the Florida visitors
>considered Disneyworld and Busch Gardens (a theme park run by a U.S.
>brewing company) to be historic sites and museums because of features such
>as Frontierland and exhibits on African culture!
>
>    We DO need to resolve what a museum is besides "educational
>institution."
 
 
Suzanne Quigley
Detroit Institute of Arts
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