Museum of the Rockies offers free and subsidized tours to schools

A large drop in visitors is prompting the Museum of the Rockies to offer free admission to school groups for the rest of the year.

An anonymous donation combined with proceeds from last week’s fund-raising ball produced $77,000 to cover those admission costs, said Shelley McKamey, museum director. Subsidies will also be offered to help schools pay travel expenses, with preference going to distant schools.

Three years ago, 17,000 students visited the museum.

Two years ago, that dropped to 12,500 students, and last year just 5,700 students attended. Museum officials believe the decrease is because of school districts’ economic problems, McKamey said.

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2005/02/20/featuresbigskylife/hjjejhiahhhaij.txt