text: I finally got around to visiting the MIM today with my daughter All of the glowing reviews of the building the exhibits the vastness are true I take no issue with the content of the museumnnI was really enjoying our visit until we got to the end of it and started inquiring about membership as it seemed like it would be practical to put our rather hefty ticket prices toward joining as a family nnI have memberships at the Phoenix Art Museum for a family with unlimited visits and other perks the Science Center family the Heard Family and SMOCA do not have the number handy but it is on par with the others and was expecting the MIM to have something in those ranges nnInstead they offered me a donation package that could buy either unlimited visits for people I have a family of four or tickets to be used during the year with virtually no other benefits such as discounted concert tickets nnMy enthusiasm for the museum continued to decline as I looked more into the money side of things for examplenThey do not offer discounted or free admission at any point unlike many city museums nThere is no participation in the library Culture Pass program which would at least make the museum accessible for a few families who cannot otherwise afford to gonNo reciprocity with other museums if you buy a membershipnThere are no afternoon concerts virtually eliminating the involvement of young children and their parents in the live music opportunities there nevermind the added cost of a babysitter if parents want to go outnIts location requires travel by car or I imagine a pretty long bus ride with no contribution to the walkingpublic transportation culture that Phoenix is trying to cultivatennIn short the MIM might as well hang a sign outside that says NO POOR PEOPLE ALLOWED because they are actively discouraging the attendance of a large percentage of its home city nnI wonder if the indigenous people and the music educators and pioneers featured in the exhibits without whom the museum would not exist could afford to buy tickets or memberships to the museum that claims to champion their contributions to historynnI am disappointed and ashamed that this lovely new addition to the Phoenix museum culture has made the decision to be so exclusive I would love to be proven wrong and invite anyone who knows about such things behind the scenes to explain to me how my impressions are inaccurate nnI will take my membership donation and give it to KBAQ where anyone with access to a radio can listen to music regardless of income level