the met(al) button

Say it ain’t so!  After 42 years, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will no longer issue those colorful little metal buttons as the admittance ticket.  Citing costs as the reason, the museum will now spend only a penny for a paper ticket versus three cents for a button.  (Producing 1.6 million buttons a quarter…well you can do the math.)  Unfortunately, over the years I never saved mine.  Yep, dropped in the box on the way out hoping to assist in the museums recycling efforts.  But 24 hours before the end of the metal buttons and the beginning of paper stickers, a visit was made to ensure one of those little keepsakes from a bygone era.  Whew,  just in time.  There were 16 colors of buttons with in-house nicknames such as Hubba Bubba, Poupon, Phoenix, Firefly, etc.  Oh, my cute little pink one?  Piglet Pink!

But with the sad news also came good news.  For all those visitors who didn’t know any better and showed up on a Monday to find the Met museum closed, well no longer.  For the first time in 42 years the museum is now open 7 days a week.  Yeah!

A big tidbit known by living in the city and visiting the Met?  Plan your visit.  If you’re a local you can purchase a membership and visit any time you like.  But if you’re just visiting and have a set amount of time to spend, do your homework.  Check out their website to know exactly the areas that interest you.  Spending more than a half day is exhausting as this place is huge.  Utilize your time and if you like photographing, plan to visit in the afternoon to get some of that magical lighting as the Met takes on a totally different look in late evening.   Also, take advantage of their free guided tours.  It’s a great use of an hour.  And of course never leave without visiting their roof garden.  Using my recommendation to attend in the afternoon, you can enjoy the beauty of an incredible sunset over Central Park and the city, weather permitting of course.  Grab a drink from the martini bar and soak in one of their four art installations on the rooftop each year.  There’s definitely something for everyone at this museum!

Oh, one last thing.  Admission price of $25 is suggested.  Instead of trying to explain this topic that has much controversy…I’ll just let you read the statement from the Met director here and you can decide if you want to pay the full price of admission.  Just keep in mind, it is one of the top museums in the world!