The cause is up for debate but the numbers tell the story at the Illinois State Museum. 

 

Attendance is down. 

 

After being shuttered for 9 months the museum reopened with an admission fee of $5 for most adults, but figures show that tens of thousands fewer people are showing up. 

 

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says that since a July reopening more than 13,000 people have been in the building but that pales in comparison to the more than 61,000 during the same time in 2014. Not everyone has to pay to get in. 

 

Anyone under 19, a military veteran, senior citizens and museum members don’t pay the admission fee.