In 1996, Rogers eliminated admission fees for those aged seventeen and younger and extended museum opening hours to seven days and more than 60 hours a week. Rogers also instituted a series of free community days, cultural celebrations, and education programs, which allowed the MFA to welcome more than one million visitors annually. Rogers’ decision to open the museum for longer hours (at the time, the longest of any major museum in the US) and reach out to new audiences in the surrounding community brought him acclaim. His initiatives reflected his philosophy of “opening doors” and making the museum accessible to all, a decision described by Geoff Edgers of "The Boston Globe" as “a step toward rejuvenating the MFA.”