April 26, 2007
Smithsonian Butterflies Won't Come for Free
A new permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History is already making its own history as the first to require entrance fees. One part of Butterflies and Plants: Partners in Evolution, planned to open in November, will cost visitors about $5. Much of the exhibit will be free, but an admission fee will be attached to a two-tier butterfly pavilion, similar to New York's American Museum of Natural History butterfly habitat.
We're not terribly surprised that the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents approved a modest entrance fee to raise the $900,000 per year needed to keep the climate-controlled pavilion up and running. The project is ambitious and the museums are a constant source of high-quality, free exhibits, art and entertainment. In recent years the Smithsonian has faced serious financial woes, due to mismanagement and cuts in Congressional funding.
Last year we criticized some of the corporate sponsorships that help keep the museums afloat as well as proposed entrance fees. The reality that Congress isn't rushing in to save these cultural treasures leaves the Smithsonian in a bit of a bind. In order to maintain the American legacy and keep the exhibits up-to-date and relevant, is it offensive to discuss the risks and benefits of creating a more self-sustaining economic model? Already the museums host IMAX theaters and those hefty ticket prices raise few objections that they endanger the message that America's cultural and history are free to all.
Fox 5 reported this morning that Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton planned to hold hearing on the issue. Reaction on the Hill to the news was mixed, with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), saying she supports the idea and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) challenging the Smithsonian to cut waste before instituting admission fees. Frankly, we're just happy no mud slinging is going on over the inclusion of "evolution" in the title of this ambitious project.
Photo by Flickr user LaTur.
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I don't like it. This is letting the camel's nose into the tent. Didn't a member of Congress propose a $1 fee for entrance? This thing will snowball even though many of the endowments for these museums was conditioned on them being free. One of the great things about DC is that so many treasures are free and a person of modest means can bring their family to the nation's capital and see almost everything without having to spend a fortune. Supposed they charges a buck to see Butterstick, sure it would raise a lot of money, but the cost, in my opinion would be too high.
I can understand that they need money to keep the exhibit running, but this sets a very bad precedent. It opens the doors to Smithsonian museums charging for all sorts of "special exhibits". I'm sure the other museum directors are watching this very closely and thinking about getting their own piece of the pie. The beauty of the Smithsonian is that it's a free gift to the people of the world. It's sad to see the end of that. I understand that they'll be importing fresh butterflies weekly, just so they can die in this pretty exhibit. :) How about quadrupling the price of freeze-dried ice cream instead?
Frankly, for five bucks, I expect IMAX® butterflies. Can we get in free if we bring our own caterpillars?
Note to labor organizers: Smithsonian gets $5 per head per show; butterflies get nectar and pollen.
Even Equity butterflies.
$900,000 by $5 = 180,000 paying visitors = average 575 paying visitors per.. they estimate 200,000 visitors.
BTW notably missing from the DCist writeup: "The minutes also indicate that the fees would be waived one day a week." It should probably be two days a week so that people visiting for a few days can get a shot at a free (but likely crowded) visit.
Also missing, there were two previous temporary exhibits that charged fees.
Correct me if I am wrong here, but I believe the fee is charged for the chance to walk through the butterfly pavilion. It will still be free to look INTO the pavilion and see the butterflies and, once a week, entrance will be free to all.
On ABC7 they said it would be free every Tuesday and to look into the pavillion as Jesse said. Their site doesn't mention any specifics though.
What has been missing from news coverage of this is that the Smithsonian HAS offered this sort of butterfly walk-through exhibit in the past in conjunction with its orchid show, and at the time, it was 100 percent free. So why the change?
(Citation: Nature's Jewels A Living Exhibit of Orchids and Butterflies at Smithsonian Institution, Arts and Industries Building January 18 through May 26, 2003)
@yellowliner: Quite right. It was an amazing show.
Yellowliner - That show was 4 months. This exhibit is permanent.
Why can't we just do it the way the Met does it? You have a sign that asks for an "entrance fee" but it's actually a suggested donation. The Met seems to be doing fine - most people pay what they can and if you're a poor student they won't give you a hard time.
The previous butterfly show was also in a side-room constructed in one of the Arts and Industries building galleries, if I remember correctly. It was a small, single-floor structure about the size of a large classroom with a lot of nets hanging from the ceiling, not nearly the more impressive permanent, multi-level structure that's described here.
I think it's generally paranoia to see this as a harbinger of entrance fees being imposed across the board at the Smithsonian since as others have noted, at least four of the museums are required to be free by the terms of the bequests that created them. What I do worry about is the idea that this is setting a up a new model for creating exhibits at the museums, one that will require them to "pay for themselves" in some way.
Entry fees won't always be feasible, and the search for corporate sponsors to underwrite content creation and could easily lead to skewed presentation of that content. The General Motors Hall of Transportation at NMAH is going to become the rule, rather than the exception.