In a message dated Fri, 3 Nov 2000  1:01:05 AM Eastern Standard Time, "David
E. Haberstich" <[log in to unmask]> writes:

<< A further word on admission fees vs. no admission fees for museums and the
issue of whether free things are perceived to be of little value--

I've been away for a week so this point might have been made before.

Some of the largest and most "prestigious" museums in the world are free: The
Smithsonian, The National Gallery of Art, The National Portrait Galleries in
DC and London, the British Museum, The Natural History Museum in London, The
Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, etc.

In fact, until I started visiting museums in other cities as a college
student I thought all museums were free. I choke at the idea of spending $10+
to get into a museum, over $5 for an IMAX film or planetarium program or even
more than $5 for parking (especially if the only way to get there is to drive
and park in their lot.)

A British friend of mine thinks that all museums, especially state-run
museums, should be free as they are education for the people and an
obligation of the state to support cultural institutions. If we look back at
an example from our own US history, public libraries once charged fees to
check out books and now they are free which opened them up to a whole group
of people who otherwise wouldn't have access to books. While I understand
that museums have to charge fees to pay staff and keep the lights on, I do
think that they should get more support from the state in general.

As for people thinking free museums aren't as "fun" or valuable as amusement
parks and the like, when you are paying upwards to $20 to go to a museum and
an IMAX movie or planetarium show - per person - which amounts to a few hours
of pleasure at most, I think most people would rather spend the extra $10-$20
to go to an amusement park for the entire day. Plus amusement parks offer
vacation packages and other deals that museums generally don't. And face it,
amusement parks have better marketing and huge corporate backers. Museums
just can't compete with that.

Deb

=========================================================
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).