Kirsten, is this an activity that the parents will do with their children, or are they leaving them in your care? How many children do you anticipate you can accommodate for each session? What are your expenses - both materials and staff? While there may not be another house museum in your area, I think its also important to consider what parents pay for their kids to go to a movie, go to a children's entertainment restaurant (like Chuckie Cheese) or to play miniature golf. We charge $5 per child only when it is a defined group - a class or a camp - and I know there will be at least $100 coming in. For non reservation events, we charge $7 or $8 - but put a cap on it with a family charge of $12. That is for an event with no craft activity, but does include complimentary popcorn. It's a delicate balance to attract an audience (especially if this is a new thing) and not break your budget doing it. Cindy Boyer Director of Museums and Education The Landmark Society of Western New York 133 S. Fitzhugh St. Rochester NY 14608 (585) 546-7029 ext. 12 [log in to unmask] Fax: (585) 546-4788 The Landmark Society: Revitalizing Yesterday, Protecting Today, and Planning for Tomorrow www.landmarksociety.org Confessions of a Preservationist: The Landmark Society blog Facebook / MySpace -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dollie Boyd Sent: Monday, June 14, 2010 10:22 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Summer Programming - Cost? I agree with you, that price is a little steep. We typically charge $5 per child with one parent/guardian free for a 1.5 hour program with at least one activity where they make a take home craft or art work. We do not provide lunch. Have them bring a sack lunch and cut down on your cost and hassle. Do you have supplies and materials on hand or will you have to go out and buy a bunch of stuff to make this happen? Always happy to share info and ideas with other historic house museums, my contact is below. Good luck! Dollie Boyd Manager of School Programs Doak House Museum Tusculum College 423-636-8554 1-800-729-0256 ext. 5251 [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kirsten Teasdale Sent: Monday, June 14, 2010 10:03 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Summer Programming - Cost? We're planning on offering some children's activities this summer and I was wondering what other museums charge for similar activities. We're a small historic house museum, so these will not be on a particularly grand scale, and will likely last 1-2 hours each. The activities will be in a 2 week rotation, with the first week consisting of a scavenger hunt, a portrait painting workshop, an open fire cooking workshop + lunch, and an 18th century herb garden + planting workshop, and the second week consisting of a "behind the scenes" museum tour, a pottery making workshop, an outdoor games + kite making workshop, and a candle dipping workshop. My Board thinks $20 per activity ($75 for a package of 4) is a fair price, but I say this is steep for what's being offered. What is a good price point, in your experience? Many thanks, Kirsten ---------------------------- Kirsten Teasdale Education Director, The Conference House Association Email: [log in to unmask] Phone: 718-984-0415 Fax: 718-984-7760 The Conference House Park 298 Satterlee Street Staten Island, NY 10307 http://www.conferencehouse.org/ ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).