Museums See Rise in Attendance
Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Museums saw a spike in attendance last year, despite struggling financially, according to latest data from the American Association of Museums.

Museums See Rise in Attendance

Wall Street Journal

By: Candace Johnson

When times get tough, Americans apparently take respite in museums.

Museums saw a spike in attendance last year, despite struggling financially, according to the latest data from the American Association of Museums (AAM), an industry trade organization.

AAM estimates that 57% of museums saw a jump in attendance in 2009, compared with recent years. Science and technology museums saw the broadest gains, with 81% reporting an increase, while half of art museums said they saw visitor growth. More than a quarter of the museums that responded to the survey reported "significant" increases in attendance, between 5-20%.

AAM estimates that there were roughly 850 million museum visits in the United States last year.

But bigger crowds didn't necessarily mean a financial windfall for museums. About half reported a decline in total revenue in 2009, according to the survey. And 18% of museums described their financial condition as "very severe."