Museums Still Managed Crowds in 2008

By Marcus Gilmer in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 27, 2009 10:45PM

In spite of the current recession, Chicago's museums are still managing to bring in a healthy number people. Total attendance in 2008 at the city's top 10 "major cultural attractions" was only off by one percent for a total of 7.7 million. The Shedd Aquarium saw a drop of seven percent, but was still had the highest overall attendance at 1.9 million; The Museum of Science & Industry had a larger drop at 15 percent, but was second overall with 1.4 million. In spite of these drops, the eight other attractions saw increases. The Art Institute of Chicago drew 1.4 million for third place overall and the Chicago History Museum saw a healthy 22 percent increase in visitors for a total of 266,000. The overall attendance on "free days" also saw a hefty increase of over 15 percent.

Photo of the Shedd Aquarium by idontlikeribena