MUSEUMS FOR ALL at Thanksgiving Point

By Stephen Ashton, Ph.D., Director of Audience Research and Evaluation

We are thrilled to announce that Thanksgiving Point has joined the Museums for All accessibility program! Museums for All (museums4all.org) is an initiative supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM). Through this nationwide program, those individuals and families receiving food assistance (SNAP benefits) can gain regular admission to Thanksgiving Point for $2 per person per venue for up to six people by presenting their SNAP EBT (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Electronic Benefit Transfer) card at the admission desks.

Thanksgiving Point is one of more than 400 museums throughout the United States that is participating in the Museums for All program. Those museums participating in the program represent a wide variety of museums types, including children’s museums, science centers, aquariums, zoos, botanical gardens, art museums, and history museums. The purpose of Museums for All is to remove the barrier of cost and encourage visitors of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum habits.

At Thanksgiving Point, we believe providing access to families and individuals of all backgrounds is important. Since 2009 we’ve provided $2 Tuesdays in August (there is no plan to get rid of that, by the way) to help with this. Since then, hundreds of thousands of guests have benefited from increased accessibility to Thanksgiving Point on $2 Tuesdays. After learning about Museums for All, we felt the time was right to join the initiative and provide the $2 access to those in need throughout the entire year. Thanksgiving Point’s president and CEO Mike Washburn explained, “$2 admission is something we’ve done because we think it’s the right thing to do. Thanksgiving Point does not receive ZAP or RAP public funding but strives to create similar discounted opportunities to welcome all by lowering admission for those in need.”

One of the main reasons we decided to participate in Museums for All is because we believe that visiting museums makes a difference in people’s lives, and we have the data to back it up. We’ve learned through a recent social impact study that families who visit museums have experiences that strengthen their family relationships, increase their understanding about the world around them, and improve their personal health and wellbeing. We want all to have access to these benefits.

Here at Thanksgiving Point, we’re serious about welcoming all. If you know of a family that could benefit from this new initiative, please help us share the welcoming spirit by letting them know.

We hope you and your family, regardless of your background, always feel welcome at Thanksgiving Point!

To learn more about Thanksgiving Point’s participation in Museums for All, please visit ThanksgivingPoint.org/mfa