The Chicago museum campus has now been unified into a seamless park setting. The next challenge is to unify service to the public from three separate institutions: the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum of Natural History and the Shedd Aquarium.
Several problems were evident in a recent family outing. The museum campus seemed well-attended on that day, although there are probably other days when larger crowds are present.
– Southbound vehicular access was slow at noon, the Roosevelt Road intersection congested and traffic flow in all directions impeded because of cars blocking that intersection. Something needs to be done to improve access to the campus.
– Is there parking available? It’s a mystery, since there is no information provided as drivers approach the various parking lots. Luckily, we found a metered parking spot close to the Adler Planetarium. What happens to people who drive as far as the Adler and cannot find parking? As they reverse their route and exit the campus, do they have easy access to additional parking? Is there remote parking available? Is there a shuttle from remote parking?
– Our family of three spent $17 to enter the planetarium, about the same as for a first-run movie. At the Shedd, the ticket line extended 100 feet in front of the building, so we decided against standing outside for an uncertain length of time. At the Field Museum, we paid about $18, although no one was really taking tickets and we could have walked in without paying. If we had visited all three museums, our fees would have totaled about $55. This seems high compared with similar destinations such as Brookfield Zoo or the Art Institute.
All of this raises several points:
– Tickets must be purchased separately for each museum. Would it be possible to purchase one ticket for all three? Could these tickets be sold at multiple locations, perhaps including automated stations accepting credit cards, debit cards or cash?
– Could electronic tickets be used to make entry speedier, to control access and to collect information about use patterns?
– Could visitors purchase an annual membership for access to all three museums?
