Large Family Discrimination

Seems like more and more local places are succumbing to it...


For years, we have been happy members and visitors to our local science museum, the Montshire Museum. We joined soon after we moved here in 1998, and have been members during most of the time since then. We have spent many enjoyable hours in the museum.


We always have used a family membership, allowing us to admit our whole family at once. Now this year, to celebrate 2007, they suddenly decided to change the membership to a new structure, a so called flex membership. Basically , we can pay more and bring less people, not sure what's so flexible about that. I wouldn't mind them offering the flex membership as an additional option, but they decided to offer it to replace the family membership.


Last year, we paid around $85 for a family membership. (I don't remember the exact number, but this is close to it). Let's do some math to see what we have to pay if we want to renew this year. Looks like our most fitting choice is a 6 person AND a 4 person membership. This means $105 added to $90, which totals to $195. This is MORE than a 100 % increase from last year's membership fee. This seems unreasonable to me.


They have a Frequently Asked Questions page and address the large families issue there:

I have a large family and now have to pay more! Why?

* Each Museum visitor translates into a cost for Montshire, so we're striving to meet members' needs while making the cost more proportional to the level of usage.

* We hope everyone will understand that admission fees and memberships cover only a percentage of the cost of Museum facilities and exhibits — this is despite the fact that our operations are highly efficient compared to many peer institutions. The difference is made up through charitable contributions.

* If you contribute $150 or more, you will receive a complimentary 6-person Flex Membership, 10 free admission passes, and a complimentary Caregiver Card. This option offers additional flexibility that may work for a large family. And you'll also have the satisfaction of making a charitable gift.

* A passbook of 12 admission passes for $80 is another option. The passes have no expiration date and are significantly less than admission fees.



Somehow the explanations do not satisfy me, but I'll have to think about the right reasoning. One thing which bothers me is that large families often have less money to spend, and here they are required to spend more money. Of course, we can start blaming people for having 'too many kids' but somehow that doesn't feel right. I sincerely doubt that my visits with my seven kids are a HUGE burden on the museum compared to an average family visiting with 2.4 kids.


I want to write them a letter and bring up the issue, maybe asking them to provide a family membership in addition to the flex membership. I need to think about the right reasoning and the right wording though, feel free to leave any ideas in my comments. Of course, if you feel like writing them yourself to gently point out the error of their way. This is their contact information:

I still have questions. Who do I ask?

* Please contact the membership department at 802-649-2200, or email Jennifer Rickards, Director of Development and Membership, at jennifer.rickards@montshire.org, or Michelle Kersey, Development Assistant, at michelle.kersey@montshire.org.