CULTURAL VENUES AND EVENTS
The survey collected data on attendance at selected cultural venues and events including: visiting a public library; visiting a museum or art gallery; and attending a performing arts event. In the 12 months to April 2012, at least one of these venues or events was attended by 71% of children aged 5 to 14 years outside of school hours. More children visited a museum or art gallery (43%) than in 2006 (37%), and more children attended a performing arts event (39%) than in 2006 (30%) or 2009 (34%). One and a half million children (53%) visited a public library in the 12 months to April 2012, which was a similar proportion to previous years. (Table 1)
The overall rate of attendance at cultural venues and events was higher for females (74%) than males (68%). Children aged 12 to 14 years were the least likely to have visited a public library (50% attendance rate) compared with children aged 5 to 8 years or 9 to 11 years (both 54%). Similarly, attendance at museums and art galleries was lowest for the 12 to 14 years age group (39%) compared with children aged 9 to 11 years (46%) and children aged 5 to 8 years (45%). (Table 6)
On average, in the 12 months to April 2012, children visited a public library 15 times, a museum or art gallery 3 times and attended 3 performing arts events. (Table 7)
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