The Essay Question: Many museums charge for admission while others are free.
Do you think the advantages of charging people for admission to museums outweigh the disadvantages?
The Essay: It is a fact that there is a fee for entering several museums, yet some do not charge. Certainly there would be merits and demerits in such a practice.
A huge drawback of having an entrance fee, is that not everyone can visit the museum because they might not be able to afford it. This would reduce the number of people visiting them. A museum houses many artefacts and educational material that exposes history and culture. For instance, the Field museum in Chicago has a lot to offer, in terms of educating people about various architectures and civilizations. However, not everyone has the privilege to explore due a cost attached.
Nevertheless, charging for entry, would help to gain income for the operations of the museum. It could be even utilized for its maintenance and maybe even to bring in new artefacts. The new items that brought for display would be a highlight to bring in more crowd thus earning it a spot in the top tourists destination in the city. For example, the Metropolitan museum of Art in New York, charges an admission fee, but, they keep adding new pieces of art for exhibit.
Moreover, levying some amount of money for entrance into museums, would prevent unwanted visitors or those who just wish to loiter around with no aim of educating oneself. Free places are often meeting grounds for nuisance creators, which makes it difficult to maintain law and order. A moderate fee would most likely ward off such elements.
To conclude, the benefits of taking an entry fee for museums outweigh the disadvantages owing to the fact that it is a stable source of income for the sake of development and maintenance as well as to keep off trouble makers.