At left, “This countywide embrace of the Museums for All program is an important step in removing a barrier to attendance. We hope that by offering free or reduced admission, we are eliminating financial reasons for not visiting,” said Robin Gose, president and CEO of MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation. At right, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is among 18 in the county participating in the Museums for All program.
Eighteen museums across Santa Barbara County have joined Museums for All to encourage people of all backgrounds to visit their sites.
Museums of All is a signature access program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services and is administered by the Association of Children’s Museums.
The program supports admission to the 18 Santa Barbara County museums to those receiving food assistance (CalFresh/SNAP) for a minimal fee of $0-3 per person, up to four people, with the presentation of a CalFresh (SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer – EBT) card. Similar free and reduced admission is available to eligible members of the public at more than 700 museums across the country.
Participating in the program are Art, Design & Architecture Museum, UCSB; Casa del Herrero; Dunes Center; Elverhoj Museum; Goleta Valley Historical Society; Lompoc Museum; Ganna Walska Lotusland; MOXI: The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation; Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara; Museum of Sensory & Movement Experiences; Santa Barbara Mission; Santa Barbara Botanic Garden; Santa Barbara Historical Museum; Santa Barbara Maritime Museum; Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History & Sea Center; Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation; Santa Barbara Zoo and Wildling Museum of Art & Nature.
“This collaboration activates the transformative power of the county’s museums and cultural institutions to sustain our residents’ most important human impulses and needs — to open our eyes, to delight our senses, to feed our minds, and to raise up our spirits,” said Luke J. Swetland, president and CEO of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. “For those among us who are most economically challenged, these needs are acute and urgent, though too often ignored or sidelined. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is proud and humble to be a part of this effort to raise all of us up together.”
Robin Gose, president and CEO of MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation said the program is a key part of museums’ accessibility and inclusion efforts. “We know there are certain people who, for a variety of reasons, don’t choose to visit museums. This countywide embrace of the Museums for All program is an important step in removing a barrier to attendance. We hope that by offering free or reduced admission, we are eliminating financial reasons for not visiting.”
email: dmason@newspress.com
