Inspirational museum should remain free entry (From Falmouth Packet)

Inspirational museum should remain free entry

11:11am Wednesday 13th June 2012 in Letters

FROM the wonder and colour of the minerals collection, the absorbing and enthralling new Ancient World gallery, and the diverse and thought provoking art exhibitions, the Royal Cornwall Museum (RCM) is a beacon of inspiration in these times. So it concerns me deeply that this highly regarded Museum for the people of Cornwall is now charging a £5 entry fee for over 18’s including parents.

Take any child to the RCM, few ever want to leave the place – it has more power to excite, amaze and educate than any television programme, gadget application, or whatever else some clever marketing company is attempting to fool us into thinking we need.

In an unenlightened age, where bland, mollycoddled and visionless cliques of London politicians dither and bicker over the taxation of hot food, it is hard to see a bigger picture, of hope, ingenuity, and direction.

Yet here in our Duchy’s capital, we have a symbol of these inherently Cornish traits on our doorstep – where we have real and physical evidence that through engineering, science, art and sport Cornwall once led the World…and might again.

Could this museum be so easily denied to young minds who would benefit from it the most just for the sake of a fiver; young minds who don’t have the monetary choice of their parents in that important split second decision of what to do of a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon in Truro?

It is an undisputed fact that a single visit to a museum can produce more lasting and life affirming fascination, inspiration, and ambition, than a thousand rides on a theme park rollercoaster.

Scrap this cultural poll tax – I urge the RCM to work to find a fair way to keep our museum free for one and all.

Loïc Rich, Independent Truro City Councillor