US Museum Starts Accepting Bitcoin for Entrance Fees

Museums are special places for education, entertainment and information. They shape generations by opening minds, forming artistic tastes and encouraging curiosity and the pursuit of scientific discovery. It is no surprise, then, that museums are also promoters of new technologies and inventions. The Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland has taken such a step forward. The museum and educational facility started accepting the payment of admission fees in Bitcoin on November 13.

A Science Hub Supports the Blockchain Ecosystem

The announcement came a few weeks ahead of a blockchain-focused event, the Blockland Solutions Conference. Keeping in line with the topic of the conference, participants will be able to pay their entrance fee in Bitcoin, either online or at the box office. For this purpose, the box office of the museum was upgraded with the BitPay service.

The president and CEO of the Great Lakes Science Center, Kirsten Ellenbogen, stated:

There is a lot of excitement around the conference. Accepting bitcoin is just a small part of the momentum to grow a blockchain ecosystem in Cleveland.

Accepting Cryptocurrency: A Growing Trend among Museums

The Cleveland museum is the third US museum to start accepting payment in Bitcoin. Ahead of it are the Museum of the Coastal Bend in Texas and St. Petersburg Museum of History in Florida.

The Texas-based museum started accepting Bitcoin payments in 2013. At that moment, a spokesperson for the Museum of Coastal Bend shared on Reddit: I have to admit, I’m skeptical that anyone will visit and use BTC. But it doesn’t cost us anything to try, and it’s pretty cool to say that we’re the first.

The spokesperson added in a separate reply on the thread: We’re a small museum with a small staff, but we serve thousands of school kids and adult visitors each year. Maybe bitcoin can help us further our research and education mission!

A Museum Focused on Science and Latest Technology

Coming back to the Great Lakes Science Center, the museum lives up to its name. Last year, the Cleveland museum launched a mobile app integrating the latest technologies for an immersive and interactive experience.

Last year we launched our mobile app that uses augmented and virtual reality to allow guests to experiment with flames in space and test spacecraft designs re-entering Earth’s atmosphere when they visit the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, and now they’ll be able to use their phone to pay for their admission using Bitcoin, said Ellenbogen.

The growing adoption rate of cryptocurrencies prompts more businesses and institutions to include them as valid means of payment. The interest in blockchain technology and decentralized currencies is part of a general move towards a more transparent and accountable financial world.

Accepting bitcoin is just a small part of the momentum to grow a blockchain ecosystem in Cleveland.

As a promoter of science, the Cleveland museum has reinforced its own mission statement by allowing visitors to pay their entrance fee with Bitcoin.

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