Brody Langager
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Saskatchewan’s only children’s museum is almost doubling the price for general admission as the organization continues to search for sustainable funding.
Starting Sept. 1, costs for general admission to Saskatoon’s Nutrien Wonderhub will increase to $19 for adults and $17 for kids, up from the current charge of $9.50. Children under the age of one will remain free.
“I was actually shocked by how much of an increase there was for admission. It’s such a drastic jump,” said Sandra Schultz as she crafted with her granddaughter at the Wonderhub on Friday.
Schultz said the cost increase will create a barrier for parents, but acknowledged it can be hard when organizations don’t get funding from other levels of government.
“It’s very challenging … More and more parents are just getting by … I do worry about that,” she said.
Wonderhub CEO Leah Brodie said if they kept the pricing as is, the Wonderhub would have to close within three years.
“We are making these changes reluctantly. Increasing admission fees increases financial barriers to access,” Brodie said.
Memberships will stay at the same price for the time being, and prices for school field trip and community access programs won’t change either thanks to a community initiatives fund and fundraising efforts, Brodie said.
Along with the admission increases, the Wonderhub will reduce its hours of operation during the school year, running from Wednesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Wonderhub leases the building at 950 Spadina Crescent East from the City of Saskatoon, and some fees were waived for the organization back in December, but Brodie said they still face a 6 per cent annual inflationary increase to the lease each year.
The organization used to receive funding through the Saskatchewan government’s SaskCulture, but was told back in 2020 that they didn’t meet the requirements for that funding any longer.
In December, the Ministry of Parks, Culture, and Sport said it supports museums through several funding sources, and explores those funding opportunities.
Brodie said the province turned away a recent funding application in July. She said the organization should have been more vocal about that lack of funding when it first became an issue.
Wonderhub gets some federal funding, but primarily for things like summer students and job grants. Brodie said the City of Saskatoon culture grant is the only operating grant the organization receives.
“Without sustainable, ongoing public support we’re not in a position to continue to deeply subsidize the cost per visit, which is over $20 per person.”
She noted how other, similar organizations that serve families and children are getting anywhere between $620,000 to $4.2 million a year from the provincial government, adding Wonderhub is a provincial resource that sees over 100,000 visitors a year.
