A survey released by the National Endowment for the Arts last week revealed that museum attendance has been declining. Only 22.7 percent of Americans made a visit to a museum during 2008, down from 26.5 percent in 2002.

But a closer look at the numbers reveals a silver lining of sorts. Turns out the decline in arts attendance is nothing compared to the declines in attendance for movies and sports. Attendance for the arts dropped 4.4 percent overall since 1982, while attendance for movies has declined twice as fast, and attendance for sporting events four times as fast.

A possible reason for the decline in movies and sports is their availability on television and the Internet. While people may be content to watch sports or movies from the comfort of their own homes, there may be something about the experience of seeing artwork in person that is still motivating people — albeit at a slightly reduced rate — to get off their couches and into a museum.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.