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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Megan,
We dealt with this type of question often when we first opened 18+ years ago, but it happens less often now. There was (and sometimes still is) a misconception that we are supported by the school district or city, in other words taxpayers were already paying for our services.
My response has always been two-fold: 1) A brief description: "Our science center is a non-profit organization that provides a fun learning experience for the entire family, much like the zoo (a very popular venue in our community), and you wouldn't ask the zoo to admit adults free." And 2) Redirect: "If daily admission is a concern, you may want to consider a membership, which allows free admission for your entire family for a full year."
We also allow visitors to convert daily admission paid into a membership if they decide before they leave that day. Once adults are in the gallery, they rarely need to be convinced that the experience was beneficial for them as well as their children.
Beth Demke
Executive Director
Gateway to Science
1810 Schafer Street, Suite 1
Bismarck, ND 58501-1218
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Megan Pratt
Sent: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 6:31 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Explain fee for adults
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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We have recently started the Pensacola MESS Hall here in Florida. We have had a great response from the community, and things are going very well.
However, we repeatedly get asked by visitors why the adult has to pay, too.
"I'm not going to do anything," is the typical statement. A recent email feedback said, "I feel like the parents of children interested should NOT be charged since we were the ones trying to instruct the children instead of having someone in charge come and explain each experiment to us." We do have things that adults enjoy, and many other adults are interested in adult nights or other events. I doubt the folks who ask about not paying would object to paying for a kids' movie or other so-called kids activity.
We usually try to explain to folks that it is a family learning experience, that their kids will get more out of the visit with their parent or other adult engaging with them. However, the question happens very early in the interaction, and the customer is already a bit annoyed.
We are hoping that this is just a community learning experience, that many of these folks just aren't familiar with the idea of a science museum. (We get lots of calls asking, "What are you?") However, I would appreciate any suggestions on how we can best diffuse the question about the adult fee.
Thanks.
Megan
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Megan Pratt, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Pensacola MESS Hall
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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]
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