Where Most Needed: Smithsonian: Butterflies are Expensive

April 2009

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The board of regents approves an admission fee for the new Butterfly Pavillion, with a planned opening in November.

The Washington Post (Jacqueline Trescott) reports that the Smithsonian has decided to charge an admission fee, probably $5, for admission to a new Butterfly Pavillion to open in the fall.

The rationale for the fee is that operating the butterfly conservatory will be expensive, estimated at $900,000 annually, because the insects and the plants they dine on have to be resupplied continually. The structure itself costs $3 million.

Even though the Smithsonian has free admission, it does charge for some exhibits. The simulator in the Air and Space Museum costs $7 (or $5 each for parties of twenty). The Planetarium and IMAX shows are $8.50 each for adults, or $14 for both (about a buck less for seniors and youths), while feature length IMAX films are $10 per person, with no youth discount. The museum has charged a separate admission for some temporary exhibits.

When we ran an informal poll on Smithsonian admissions last year, we found that about two-thirds of the respondents would prefer not to see an admission fee for the Smithsonian as a whole, but that if one were charged, a $10 fee would not deter most people from going.