Museum of Miniature Houses raising admission fee

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Elaine Mancini
Elaine Mancini

By Renee Larr

The cost to visit the the Museum of Miniature Houses in Carmel will increase June 1 to $10 for general admission; $8 for seniors 65 and older and active/retired military; $5 for children age 4 to 9; and children 4 and younger admitted free. The price increase comes after a reevaluation of the museum’s exhibits.

“The price increase is occurring because for many years we have undervalued the experience of the museum. Our prices weren’t in tune with the experience of the visitor,” Executive Director Elaine Mancini said. “Almost all of our visitors spend more than one hour. Even if you’re paying $10 for general admission, I think that’s a pretty good deal. It gives you more than an hour’s worth of enjoyment for $10.”

The museum continues to grow in popularity, she added, with attendance records set in 2016.

“We have a wonderful repeat visitor rate. The dynamic is working very well. Our admission percent was very low compared to our total revenue,” Mancini said. “This, hopefully, will put it more in line with standard practice. We’ve always maintained a balanced budget, but we’ve never had 2 1/2 staff (members) before, either.”

The hiring of the two additional employees allows for more exhibits at the museum.

“We change up the exhibits all the time. We used to do it only quarterly, but since we now have a full-time collections manager who has been with us for a year, we’ve been able to get a lot of grants that are topic-related for exhibits. Instead of four a year I would say we have 10 a year,” Mancini said.

Memberships are available for $25 per person and $45 per family. They offer additional perks, including unlimited free admission, a newsletter, invitations to special events and access to the museum library.

“It’s quite an extensive library they get access to with a membership,” Mancini said.

For more, visit, museumofminiatures.org.


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