Gift of the real: How the Kent County millage is panning out at our Public Museum
A November 2016 millage made it possible for the Grand Rapids Public Museum to offer free admission to Kent County residing children—and just $5 for their parents.
In 2011, riding the carousel of the Grand Rapids Public Museum, I asked the pretty young woman on a horse near mine if she would let an old man buy her dinner. She said yes. I remember walking with her through the museum’s reproduction of old Grand Rapids, and how a Jay-Z song over the speakers ushered us back into the present. We sat below the whale skeleton and talked of things that only mattered because we were the ones talking about them.
Earlier this year, I returned to the museum with our daughters in tow: Gemma (5) and Heidi (2). We had parked a brief walk away, in the museum’s parking structure. The kids made their way through the place, sometimes tearing around, sometimes pausing to observe strange old dolls or to admire various hats. In the end they rode the carousel, too. It was strange to think that, had it not been for the moment on the carousel, years ago — lifetimes ago, really — they would never have existed.
By the end of the afternoon, the kids were happy and worn out: two good things.
Carousel rides included, the day had cost $8.
The reduced cost of this day was made possible thanks to a recent millage. On November 8, 2016, a millage to raise funds to support the Grand Rapids Public Museum and John Ball Zoo passed. It resulted in an average increase of $37.44 per Kent County homeowner per year, and will run for 10 years. The resulting funds have been and will continue to be split between the museum and zoo, barring Ragnarok.
62% of voters were in favor of it, meaning 38% felt either that it was unaffordable or that it wasn’t worth the expense. And even with the help of the millage, John Ball Zoo still found it necessary to raise admission costs on March 1 of this year: $2.50 more per adult, and $2 more for children and seniors (public museum admission will not increase).
So was it worth it?
To Kate Kocienski, Vice President of Marketing/PR for the museum, the answer is yes. She says they’ve seen attendance rise nearly 5%, just in the first year of the millage going into affect. Those numbers should continue to climb as awareness-building efforts continue, to make sure Kent County families know about the opportunity. The benefits to local residents is joined by a benefit to the sustainability of the museum itself.
“If that millage hadn’t passed, it would have been rough,” she says; a full 36% of the museum’s 2017 revenue came from the millage. The funds will help the museum continue to provide an educational, intergenerational, and interactive learning experience. She hopes residents recognize that, and that they take advantage of what the millage has helped secure. “We would like to let more people know about these awesome benefits.”
One benefit is that Kent County residents receive free parking at the museum’s structure. They pay $5 for adult admission and $0 for children. A family can have an engaging and memorable experience for less than the price of one movie ticket.
But why go? After all, from the comfort of our homes, we can visit an interactive website displaying Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights,” complete with terrifying sounds, after which we can add anti-anxiety herbal medications to our Amazon shopping cart.
“People crave engagement and communal experiences,” Kocienski says. “Something interactive. The real thing. And we have so much of the real thing here and so much for people to experience.”
One experience residents will want to have is Zoo In You, an exhibit that is currently open and free with admission to the museum. Attendees can learn about microbes, build their own viruses, and play a video game in which they try to keep the gut, that most delicate ecosystem, in balance. It may not be finding your future spouse, but it’s something.
Both the museum and the zoo offer the real in a time when the virtual continues to expand its borders. They did so before the birth of my daughters and, God and the community willing, they will do so after they’re gone.
