The ticket price hikes are largely symbolic, aimed at helping museums stay afloat without scaring off visitors.
 
"The Estonian National Museum (ERM) has not raised ticket prices since opening," said ERM director Laura Kipper. "This year we have no choice but to raise them by €1, and we hope it will stay that way for a long time."

The Art Museum of Estonia is raising discount ticket prices by €1–2 across all its locations. Director Sirje Helme said her biggest concern is schoolchildren, who make up about 80 percent of the museum's group visitors.

If museums and theaters can no longer charge for educational programs, she warned, public cultural literacy could suffer drastically.

The Ministry of Education and Research has introduced a new rule banning schools from charging parents for curriculum enrichment activities — including field trips to places like museums.

"It's literally like chopping off Kalevipoeg's feet a second time," Helme said, pointedly referring to the fate of the eponymous hero of Estonia's national epic. "This is very foolish."

The museum director said smaller schools are simply giving up on field trips already, and while some are already canceling, the first major repercussions likely won't even be felt until late January or early February.

The Estonian Broadcasting Museum in Türi, where half of roughly 5,000 annual visitors are students, is also raising ticket prices by €1 from next year. Director Juhan Sihver said a few school cancellations may already be linked to the planned hike.

"Most students pay participation fees out of their own pockets," he said, noting that such decisions often have wider impacts than anticipated.

Museums want to remain accessible

Tallinn City Museum is planning modest increases at some branches but hopes the city will continue supporting its Tallinn Youth Culture Ticket program, which gives children at least one free educational visit a year.

"At Miiamilla Children's Museum, we've proposed raising the price of family tickets by €4 because we don't limit family size," said director Heli Nurger, noting that the children's museum is visited by bigger families as well.

Saaremaa Museum also acknowledged that raising prices was a difficult decision. Director Priit Kivi said the Kuressaare museum always considers visitors' broader costs, including ferry tickets and overnight stays, "to keep the museum accessible."  

Estonia's Museum Card, which provides access to nearly 140 museums and visitor centers for a flat €75 a year, will not be affected by the ticket price increases.

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