The museum held a “pay what you can” admissions day Sunday, as it does every first Sunday of the month. This has been a regular feature since relocating to its current space in Chapel Hill’s University Place in April.
The pay-what-you-can admissions was a component of the museum since the very beginning, but originally had funding through a grant. When the grant ran out, the museum had to limit its day that it could offer pay-what-you-can admissions. But it still aimed to make its facility accessible to families in the community regardless of their economic background.
Tina Clossick, co-founder and director of operations at Kidzu, said the idea behind the event is to make sure everyone in the community can see the space without money being a restriction.
“I think it’s a really great way for supporting your community and supporting the fact that not everyone has the benefit to pay to enjoy everything in the community,” Clossick said.
Normal entry fees for the museum are $7.50 for non-member adults and children over 12 months old. Memberships for a year of unlimited admission start at $115 for a family of four. Clossick said they would accept someone on their pay-what-you-can admissions days even if they only had a penny. However, many people continue to pay the regular admissions fee or even more than the regular entry fee.
Exhibits include The Makery, which aims at science, technology, engineering, arts and math learning where kids can tinker with tools and create projects under adult supervision, and the Forest Theater, where kids can put on their own productions.
Candace King, spokesperson for Kidzu, said she hopes the area gains more of a sense of community from Kidzu.
“Chapel Hill is blessed to have many ethnicities and backgrounds,” she said. “We’ve created an environment that creates respect and understanding of each other’s cultures.”
