Today (Thursday 2nd December) the Flexible Family Ticket Guidelines are launched, helping museums and galleries to introduce a family ticket to fit today’s family – in all its different shapes and sizes.
Kids in Museums listened to over 500 families and 120 museums and galleries. They told us the standard two adults plus two kids family ticket didn’t work for them. They wanted a Flexible Family Ticket. The Flexible Family Ticket guidelines help museums and galleries make this happen.
Here are some things today’s families said:
- We don’t want to begin a visit with an argument about who counts as our family. Which of my three children am I supposed to disown? A visitor said: ‘It sends a message that you are not a proper family unless you fit the approved model. There are enough ways to feel stigmatised without experiencing it almost every time you go to buy tickets.’
- Why do different museums think kids become adults at different ages? A visitor said: ‘What really annoys me is that a lot of places count children as adults if they are 12 or over. I think it’s unfair to have to pay adult price for a 12 year old.’
- We live with a grandparent who does a lot of the childcare. Why can’t they count as part of our family? A visitor said: ‘We tend to go to places with one parent, one grandparent and the three children. Family tickets are rarely flexible enough for that.’
- Families come in all shapes and sizes – single parents, extended families, foster families. Family tickets are rarely good value or cheaper for these families. A visitor said: ‘A family ticket doesn’t fit my family. My husband is currently serving in Afghanistan and can’t accompany us. It’s quite upsetting really to be classed as a non-family when we’re involuntarily separated.’
Flexible Family Tickets don’t only work for visitors. Kids in Museums commissioned a Commercial Report on Introducing a Flexible Family Ticket, detailing all the income generating opportunities they can bring. These include increased secondary spend and attracting new families who wouldn’t otherwise visit. As more museums introduce and increase charges, it’s important that they do so without losing new family audiences.
Already three leading museums have jumped at the opportunities a Flexible Family Ticket offers. The British Museum, the Museum of London and the Imperial War Museum have all pledged to introduce them.
Kids in Museums Director Dea Birkett says,
‘It’s great museums are already seeing the benefits of having a Flexible Family Ticket. As more and more museums introduce them, more and more families will visit. It’s a win-win situation for families and museums.’
Download a copy of the Flexible Family Ticket Guidelines, the Family Ticket Watch Report and the Commercial Considerations Report here.
For interview possibilities (including with museums introducing Flexible Family Tickets) and pics, email getintouch@kidsinmuseums.org.uk or call 020 7250 8338.
Notes:
- Over 50 per cent of museums charge for entry.
- Almost one quarter of children live with just one parent.
- One in three families depend on grandparents for childcare.
- Kids in Museums is a visitor-led charity working with museums to make them more family friendly, in particular for those families who have never visited before.
The Family Ticket Watch was commissioned and funded by the Department for Education and supported by Museums, Libraries and Archives (MLA).
