MONA

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Bear in mind, this doesn't apply to planetarium shows and special exhibits at either museum, those do have set prices.

Ah. There we go. The plane'arium is the reason why I go, so I guess I'm off the hook after all!

(Speaking of the space show: The new one is narrated by Neil DeGrasse Tyson himself. That must be pretty good.)

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Yeah, it's on Dark Matter and Dark Energy ... I plan to catch a showing of it myself one of these days. But it is rather pricey.

Speaking of AMNH and the Met, I generally pay the full suggested amount. I don't go that often and I'd like to do my part to support the institutions. But there have been times when I've not had much in my bank account and paid $1 or $5. And if I'm paying for a show like Dark Universe, I may end up paying less than the suggested amount to get into the rest of the museum.

 

[mari]

You have to PAY to go to the beach?!

I'm thinking it may be a privately owned beach.

No, public beach. The state says we have to let everyone in. They never said we couldn't charge exorbitant parking rates.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

^The steep ticket prices are "suggested donations." You pay what you can, if you can. I used to visit the Met almost weekly and AMNH several times a year, but I was poor, so I paid a buck most days, sometimes as little as a quarter. They're public museums on public property -- if you can afford to pay $25 a pop then by all means do so, but I worry that not making the actually policy more transparent discourages poor people from visiting the museums, which is in total opposition to the spirit of their founding as museums for the American people.

I am so glad you posted that! Hopefully I'll get to the Met next time I'm in NYC. Wouldn't have considered it at $25.

The two major museums in Baltimore are free. They ask for donations, but not for a specific amount.