NYC Museums - entrance fees or donations?

I. Wilson Gittleman, M.D. wrote:

Most 'suggested' fees, in my opinion, are higher than they expect.

They DO expect you to pay something. I am fairly sure admittance would
not be allowed without 'some' payment -- of course, I am not sure.

I suggest you definitely PAY, but make the amount less than they ask,
but reasonable.

There was a time when the Met was some snarky about this. A friend (who
was a student at the time) went and handed over the suggested donation
for students. The woman asked to see his student ID, which he didn't
have and pointed out was not really needed, since these were suggested
donations. A small debate ensued.

The reason the museums do this, by the way, is that some of their
funding requires that they provide (near-)free admission, and this is a
way to get around that.

If I were going to see only one or two items, or spend less than an hour
in a museum, I might be tempted to pay less than the suggested
admission. (AT&T used to have a deal with some museums where they
donated a large chunk o' change in return for good wiil, and also for
their employees to be able to get in free. A friend really liked this,
because her mother lived near the Cloisters, and she could just "drop
in" for an hour or so. When all that ended, she stopped going, because
the admission charge was out of line with her usage.)

By the way, the suggested admission for the American Museum of Natural
History seems to be $12, not $19 as someone indicated. Given that a
movie in NYC these days is $10.50 or more, that's not *too* bad.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
If you want to live like a Republican,
you've got to vote for a Democrat. --Harry S. Truman

So what you are saying is that, you are not getting in without paying the
full price they are asking for, right?

I also read $12 on the Museum's site, but $19 on another!

I love how the Museum site says "* Suggested admission for the Museum and
Rose Center for Earth and Space. Admission fees help support the Museum's
scientific research, exhibitions, and educational programming."

It's still a good value........and their packages are reasonable too.

Thanks Evelyn!

Eddie

"Evelyn C. Leeper" wrote in message
et...
I. Wilson Gittleman, M.D. wrote:

Most 'suggested' fees, in my opinion, are higher than they expect.

They DO expect you to pay something. I am fairly sure admittance would
not be allowed without 'some' payment -- of course, I am not sure.

I suggest you definitely PAY, but make the amount less than they ask,
but reasonable.

There was a time when the Met was some snarky about this. A friend (who
was a student at the time) went and handed over the suggested donation
for students. The woman asked to see his student ID, which he didn't
have and pointed out was not really needed, since these were suggested
donations. A small debate ensued.

The reason the museums do this, by the way, is that some of their
funding requires that they provide (near-)free admission, and this is a
way to get around that.

If I were going to see only one or two items, or spend less than an hour
in a museum, I might be tempted to pay less than the suggested
admission. (AT&T used to have a deal with some museums where they
donated a large chunk o' change in return for good wiil, and also for
their employees to be able to get in free. A friend really liked this,
because her mother lived near the Cloisters, and she could just "drop
in" for an hour or so. When all that ended, she stopped going, because
the admission charge was out of line with her usage.)

By the way, the suggested admission for the American Museum of Natural
History seems to be $12, not $19 as someone indicated. Given that a
movie in NYC these days is $10.50 or more, that's not *too* bad.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
If you want to live like a Republican,
you've got to vote for a Democrat. --Harry S. Truman

Eddie Type 2 wrote:
So what you are saying is that, you are not getting in without paying the
full price they are asking for, right?

You're getting in. Depending on who's sitting at the door you may or may not
have a discussion about it, but in almost all cases that will not happen.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 12:55:17 GMT, "Evelyn C. Leeper"
wrote:

I. Wilson Gittleman, M.D. wrote:

Most 'suggested' fees, in my opinion, are higher than they expect.

They DO expect you to pay something. I am fairly sure admittance would
not be allowed without 'some' payment -- of course, I am not sure.

I suggest you definitely PAY, but make the amount less than they ask,
but reasonable.

There was a time when the Met was some snarky about this. A friend (who
was a student at the time) went and handed over the suggested donation
for students. The woman asked to see his student ID, which he didn't
have and pointed out was not really needed, since these were suggested
donations. A small debate ensued.

The reason the museums do this, by the way, is that some of their
funding requires that they provide (near-)free admission, and this is a
way to get around that.

If I were going to see only one or two items, or spend less than an hour
in a museum, I might be tempted to pay less than the suggested
admission. (AT&T used to have a deal with some museums where they
donated a large chunk o' change in return for good wiil, and also for
their employees to be able to get in free. A friend really liked this,
because her mother lived near the Cloisters, and she could just "drop
in" for an hour or so. When all that ended, she stopped going, because
the admission charge was out of line with her usage.)

By the way, the suggested admission for the American Museum of Natural
History seems to be $12, not $19 as someone indicated. Given that a
movie in NYC these days is $10.50 or more, that's not *too* bad.

I visit the Met many times each year. I'm retired and when I was
working I paid full fee. Now I pay $5 and never have had it questioned.
I just say, "I'd like to pay $5." And I'm given my button and receipt
with a smile.

I visit only a small area on each visit. I have my favorite sections
and favorite art works I like to view over and over.

I have heard some people say they have paid a penny to get under the
"must pay something" rule. That, of course, is insulting and if they
don't get their receipt with a smile I can understand why.

But there is a larger question here. Should the world's most precious
art works be reserved for those who can pay to see them or is this kind
of effort to accmodate those with lower incomes right and proper? It
has to do with questions of who should own great works of art and if they,
like great books and great music, should reasonably be made available to
all.

Rita wrote:
I visit the Met many times each year. I'm retired and when I was
working I paid full fee. Now I pay $5 and never have had it questioned.
I just say, "I'd like to pay $5." And I'm given my button and receipt
with a smile.

I visit only a small area on each visit. I have my favorite sections
and favorite art works I like to view over and over.

I have heard some people say they have paid a penny to get under the
"must pay something" rule. That, of course, is insulting and if they
don't get their receipt with a smile I can understand why.

But there is a larger question here. Should the world's most precious
art works be reserved for those who can pay to see them or is this kind
of effort to accmodate those with lower incomes right and proper? It
has to do with questions of who should own great works of art and if they,
like great books and great music, should reasonably be made available to
all.

I live in Washington, DC metro area and work within 10 blocks of at least 8 or 9 art museums.
I will periodically go to a museum to see an exhibition, or a room, on my
lunch hour from work. Or even a painting.

These museums (Smithsonian and National Gallery of ARt) are free, and anyone
can go. This is a wonderful way to do this.

--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

Juliana L Holm wrote:
I live in Washington, DC metro area and work within 10 blocks of at least
8 or 9 art museums. I will periodically go to a museum to see an
exhibition, or a room, on my lunch hour from work. Or even a painting.

These museums (Smithsonian and National Gallery of ARt) are free, and anyone
can go. This is a wonderful way to do this.

It's a really wonderful thing about DC and makes a world of difference in
accessibility of the material on display.

If I spend $15 to get into a museum, I'm going to feel like I have to
somehow "get my money's worth" which in practice means I'm going to spend
more time than I might otherwise feel like which in turn means I probably
won't go.

Whereas in DC I dropped in to the art museums all the time, just to spend 15
or 20 minutes looking at a few things, nodding appreciatively, and then
getting back to my walk or bike ride or whatever. And I'm on the record as
not being a fan of museums.

It's not completely that it's free, but that the cost of visiting a museum
is typically connected to the act of coming through the door rather than to
the amount I get out of it. Reasonably-priced season passes have the almost
same effect (at least for me) as free admission, but that's not much use to
someone who's only in town for a few days.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

Juliana L Holm wrote:
I live in Washington, DC metro area and work within 10 blocks of at least
8 or 9 art museums. I will periodically go to a museum to see an
exhibition, or a room, on my lunch hour from work. Or even a painting.

These museums (Smithsonian and National Gallery of ARt) are free, and anyone
can go. This is a wonderful way to do this.

It's a really wonderful thing about DC and makes a world of difference in
accessibility of the material on display.

If I spend $15 to get into a museum, I'm going to feel like I have to
somehow "get my money's worth" which in practice means I'm going to spend
more time than I might otherwise feel like which in turn means I probably
won't go.

Whereas in DC I dropped in to the art museums all the time, just to spend 15
or 20 minutes looking at a few things, nodding appreciatively, and then
getting back to my walk or bike ride or whatever. And I'm on the record as
not being a fan of museums.

It's not completely that it's free, but that the cost of visiting a museum
is typically connected to the act of coming through the door rather than to
the amount I get out of it. Reasonably-priced season passes have the almost
same effect (at least for me) as free admission, but that's not much use to
someone who's only in town for a few days.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

Juliana L Holm wrote:
I live in Washington, DC metro area and work within 10 blocks of at least
8 or 9 art museums. I will periodically go to a museum to see an
exhibition, or a room, on my lunch hour from work. Or even a painting.

These museums (Smithsonian and National Gallery of ARt) are free, and anyone
can go. This is a wonderful way to do this.

It's a really wonderful thing about DC and makes a world of difference in
accessibility of the material on display.

If I spend $15 to get into a museum, I'm going to feel like I have to
somehow "get my money's worth" which in practice means I'm going to spend
more time than I might otherwise feel like which in turn means I probably
won't go.

Whereas in DC I dropped in to the art museums all the time, just to spend 15
or 20 minutes looking at a few things, nodding appreciatively, and then
getting back to my walk or bike ride or whatever. And I'm on the record as
not being a fan of museums.

It's not completely that it's free, but that the cost of visiting a museum
is typically connected to the act of coming through the door rather than to
the amount I get out of it. Reasonably-priced season passes have the almost
same effect (at least for me) as free admission, but that's not much use to
someone who's only in town for a few days.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

Rita wrote:

I visit the Met many times each year. I'm retired and when I was
working I paid full fee. Now I pay $5 and never have had it questioned.
I just say, "I'd like to pay $5." And I'm given my button and receipt
with a smile.

I visit only a small area on each visit. I have my favorite sections
and favorite art works I like to view over and over.

I have heard some people say they have paid a penny to get under the
"must pay something" rule. That, of course, is insulting and if they
don't get their receipt with a smile I can understand why.

But there is a larger question here. Should the world's most precious
art works be reserved for those who can pay to see them or is this kind
of effort to accmodate those with lower incomes right and proper? It
has to do with questions of who should own great works of art and if they,
like great books and great music, should reasonably be made available to
all.


On a similar topic, most of the state parks in my state (Washington) now
charge a $5 per vehicle entrance fee. For me, that removes the option
of being able to pull off the road for 15 or 20 minutes to eat lunch in
a lovely location. I wish the state parks would institute a "pay what
seems reasonable" fee. For me, that would mean $5 for a visit of
perhaps a couple of hours, and $1 for a 20 minute lunch stop.

You could also buy an annual pas entitling you to an entire year of
lovely lunches.The money to maintain these sites has to come from
somewhere be it increasing all resident's taxes or placing a user fee.
http://www.parks.wa.gov/parking/


On a similar topic, most of the state parks in my state (Washington)
now
charge a $5 per vehicle entrance fee. For me, that removes the option
of being able to pull off the road for 15 or 20 minutes to eat lunch
in
a lovely location. I wish the state parks would institute a "pay what
seems reasonable" fee. For me, that would mean $5 for a visit of
perhaps a couple of hours, and $1 for a 20 minute lunch stop.



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