Through Museums for All, those receiving food assistance (SNAP benefits) can gain free or reduced admission to more than 1,200 museums throughout the United States simply by presenting their SNAP EBT (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Electronic Benefit Transfer) card.
Museums for All is a national, branded access program that encourages individuals of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum habits. It is open to participation by any type of museum — including art, history, natural history/anthropology, and general museums, children’s museums, science centers, planetariums, nature centers, historic houses/sites, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and arboretums.
The cost of museum admission can be a barrier for many low-income families. Participating museums provide reduced admission, ranging from free to $3.00, to visitors presenting their EBT card. This reduced rate is available during all normal operating hours to up to four individuals per EBT card. With a year-round open door policy, Museums for All invites low-income visitors to feel welcome at cultural institutions.
Since the launch of the initiative in 2014/2015, Museums for All has served more than 7.5 million visitors nationwide at more than 1,200 museums of all varieties, representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Museums for All is the only nationally coordinated financial accessibility program in the museum field, providing an easy-to-implement structure and the ability for participating museums to customize their implementation.
Museum Guidelines
- Register to participate in Museums for All.
- Offer individual admission fees ranging from free to $3.00 (USD) to individuals and families presenting a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, and a valid form of photo ID. Museums for All admission rates must be offered for up to four individuals per EBT card. This admission rate must be available during all normal operating hours.
- Clearly publicize participation in Museums for All by posting information about access on their websites and other collateral.
- Use the approved Museums for All PR toolkit resources for branding of the program in all communications.
- Train sales and front line staff appropriately to ensure good customer service to individuals and families seeking to take advantage of the Museums for All program.
- Regularly report the number of visitors who utilize Museums for All admission.
Reflexive Analysis
This program is provided by the government and signed up for by institutions to help people on government assistance get into museums without stressing their pockets. This brings in more visitors and likewise more money into the institution and community. Even with free admission it is likely that some of these visitors are still spending money on site via food/drink or souvenirs. Here in Columbus we have 8 locations that have adopted Museums For All. In our partners’ home city of Dayton there are 3, none of our sites make this list because 5/6 of them are free as is. The Carillon Site is the only one with an entry fee which sits at 12 dollars for adults, 10 for seniors, and 8 for kids. While this is relatively cheap compared to some places I’ve visited, it does not quite hit that 3 dollar a head mark. Let’s say we have a single mom with 3 children (the maximum 4 people per SNAP EBT card), at a participating site the price would be maximum 12 dollars. Without Museums For All this entry at Carillon would be 36 dollars. There may be opportunity to address these discrepancies or to provide an experience that elevates the value of the ticket without elevating price.
Sources
About museums for all. About Museums for All – Museums for All. (n.d.). https://museums4all.org/about/
