Use of a Publicly Funded Museum Admission Program under an Engagement Intervention

Last registered on February 04, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Use of a Publicly Funded Museum Admission Program under an Engagement Intervention
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017803
Initial registration date
January 30, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
February 04, 2026, 10:00 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Sebastian Olascoaga
Affiliation
City of Boston
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-02-01
End date
2026-07-31
Keywords
Behavior, Education
Additional Keywords
take-up, utilization, public programs, cultural participation, encouragement design, access to services, museums
JEL code(s)
H75, Z11
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study examines whether a simple engagement intervention can increase use of a publicly funded museum admission program. The program provides PreK-12 students and their families with free admission to participating museums on designated days throughout the year. Access is universal within the eligible population and does not require payment at the point of entry. Despite the absence of financial barriers, participation and early engagement vary across schools and students.

The intervention does not change the structure of the program. Eligibility, pricing, and admission rules remain unchanged. Instead, a physical “passport” is distributed through selected schools as a light-touch engagement tool intended to make the program more visible and encourage initial and repeat use. The passport is not required for entry.

The study uses a school-level randomized rollout. Using administrative ticketing and redemption data, outcomes include any program use, participation among students with no prior use, timing of first visits, repeat visits, and visits to multiple museums, among other subgroup analyses. The study aims to inform whether low-cost engagement tools can increase utilization of publicly funded access programs.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Olascoaga, Sebastian. 2026. "Use of a Publicly Funded Museum Admission Program under an Engagement Intervention." AEA RCT Registry. February 04. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17803-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention involves distributing a physical “passport” at selected schools. The passport is a small booklet that highlights participating museums and allows students to collect stamps when they visit. It is intended as a light-touch engagement tool to make the program more visible and engaging and to encourage initial and repeat use.

The passport does not change eligibility, pricing, or admission rules. It is not required for entry, does not provide additional benefits, and is not linked to the program’s ticketing or administrative systems. Its role is purely motivational and informational, serving as a prompt layered on top of the existing program.
Intervention Start Date
2026-02-01
Intervention End Date
2026-03-08

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
- First-time ever program usage
- Return program usage
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
First-time ever program usage is defined as an indicator equal to one if a student has no recorded program use prior to the intervention and redeems at least one museum admission during the evaluation window, and zero otherwise.

Return program usage is defined as an indicator equal to one if a student who redeems at least one museum admission during the evaluation window has at least one additional redemption on a different date, either within the evaluation window or following a prior redemption recorded before the intervention period.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Student-level outcomes:

- Number of distinct visit days during the evaluation window
- Return participation during the evaluation window
- Participation in multiple museums during the evaluation window
- Number of distinct museums visited during the evaluation window
- Total number of guest admissions associated with a student during the evaluation window

School-level outcomes
- School-level participation rate during the evaluation window

Individual-level subgroups

- By grade band
- By prior program use status
- By economic status
- By individualized education plan
- By distance from home to museum

School-level subgroups

- By baseline school participation level
- By ecomic status of the school
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The intervention is implemented as a phased rollout at the school level. Physical passports are distributed to a subset of eligible schools in an initial batch, with additional distribution planned in later phases. The initial print run was limited due to administrative and budgetary constraints and was conducted on a tight timeline, so not all schools could receive passports in the first round. The first phase is used to learn from early implementation and make adjustments prior to subsequent printing and distribution.

To evaluate the initial rollout, eligible schools are assigned to treatment or comparison status at the school level prior to the start of the evaluation window. Randomization is conducted at the school level to align with the mode of distribution and to limit within-school spillovers. Assignment probabilities vary by grade band (elementary, middle, and high school) to reflect differences in participation patterns across age groups and operational constraints. Schools assigned to treatment receive passports during the initial distribution phase, while comparison schools continue under the existing program during the evaluation window.

The primary estimand is the intent-to-treat effect of assignment to receive passports in the initial rollout. Outcomes are measured using administrative ticketing and redemption data over a pre-specified one- to two-month window following distribution, with analyses accounting for clustering at the school level and stratification.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization was conducted in-office by the research team using a computer-generated random assignment, with assignment probabilities varying by school grade band.
Randomization Unit
The unit of randomization is the school. Schools are assigned to treatment or comparison status at the school level. There is no individual-level randomization.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
119 schools
Sample size: planned number of observations
46,516 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
76 schools assigned to treatment
43 schools assigned to control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan