Time for another edition of Unlocking Library Coolness, where I share unique and terrific resources I’ve discovered about local libraries, beyond the expected and inestimable excellence of All The Reading Materials.
In previous editions, we’ve covered Libby, language learning options, and then magazine options for digital browsing. I talked about my terribly satisfying habit of checking out cookbooks I want to try before I buy, and last month, the Library of Things – all sorts of things!
This month’s edition is similar to the Library of Things, only it’s probably better explained as a library enabling experiences. Did you know you might be able to borrow passes to parks, museums, and other institutions from your library?
It’s true! I first discovered this fantastic resource in Montclair, New Jersey, where we used to live. Some of the museums in New York City are hella expensive, but I could borrow passes to the Children’s Museum, the Guggenheim, and many other locations from the library with my card. I loved this option, especially because when my kids tired of being in the place we were at sooner than I’d expected, because I hadn’t paid an exorbitant amount to get in, I was happy to leave whenever we were ready.
The Poudre Library in Colorado has an option, among its Library of Things, to check out a Colorado State Park Pass, along with a backpack, binoculars, and wildlife guides.
Many other libraries offer state park passes as options to borrow, including Live Oak Library in Georgia, and many other libraries in Georgia as well. The Wasatch County Library has a similar program with the Utah State Parks, with passes available for a week with a refundable deposit.
The New York Public Library has a Culture Pass program that debuted this summer that allows library cardholders to borrow passes for a long list of NYC cultural institutions – and the program was so popular that the availability has been limited. Like I said above, the prices for some NYC attractions like the Intrepid, or museums like the MoMA or the Guggenheim, can be very expensive – $25-35 dollars per ticket in some cases.
The Pelham Library in New York also offers passes to some New York City attractions and museums, along with other options nearby – all of which can be reserved online.
The Boston Public Library has passes, too – and thanks to Amanda for the link. You can reserve tickets to the Boston Children’s Museum, the Eddy Library and Mapparium, the Museum of Science, and the New England Aquarium.
The Boston Public Library also offers a discounted passes to many places, such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: “$10.00 per person, will admit up to two people to general admission. Sponsored by the Museum of Fine Arts and the City-Wide Friends of the Boston Public Library.” That’s very cool!
Some if not most are available to reserve online, and the terms and length of checkout vary per library. But if you’d like to explore more local institutions, your library may be able to help!
Does your library offer passes and tickets to borrow? Any institutions you recommend?
The PINES Library system (which covers most of the state of Georgia) has passes for the State Parks, Zoo Atlanta, the Center for Puppetry Arts, the Go Fish! experience, Chehaw Park, and (I think ) the High Museum of Art. We’ve taken advantage of almost all of them through the years!
Toronto Public Library has a passes for the Toronto Zoo, Science Centre, Royal Ontario Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario, and more – ask for info on the MAP (Museum + Art Program) passes. It’s a really under-publicized program.
I live in Montgomery County Pennsylvania and we have a great library system:
Cultural Passes
Visit a great historical or cultural place, museum, or public garden for free! If you have a Montgomery County library card and are in good standing, you can check out a pass to the following institutions:
Academy of Natural Sciences (admits 2 adults, 5 children)
Elmwood Zoo (admits 2 adults, 6 children)
Glencairn Museum (admits 6 people)
Independence Seaport Museum (admits 2 adults, 4 children)
Morris Arboretum (admits 2 adults, 5 children)
Museum of the American Revolution (admits 2 adults, 4 children from 6-17 — children 5 and under get in free!)
National Constitution Center (admits 2 adults, 4 children)
Woodmere Art Museum (admits single household)
Each pass circulates for 3 days.
This is so great, I never knew!!! I just looked, and King County Library Systems (Seattle metro area) has passes to:
WA State History Museum (Tacoma)
Bellevue Arts Museum
KidsQuest (Bellevue)
Northwest African American Museum (Seattle)
Museum of Flight (Seattle)
Seattle Art Museum
Seattle Aquarium
MoPOP
If you’re down south in Chula Vista (south of San Diego), their library has passes for:
San Diego Museum of Man
2 adults, 4 children and discounts at the store and event tickets.
San Diego Museum of Art
2 adults 4 children under 18, and provides a discount at the gift shops.
The New Children’s Museum
2 adults and all the children in a household.
Discounts on cafe, camps, classes, and PARKING! Also a 25% discount on family memberships.
Living Coast Discovery Center
2 adults and 2 children
You can check them out for a week. The Children’s Museum and Discovery Center has a long wait list but the Man and Art museums are usually available.
I can’t stress enough how much borrowing a pass from my library for the NYC Children’s Museum made our day enjoyable, and budget-friendly. Children’s Museums can be so much fun, and also so very expensive. Library passes are brilliant options, and I’m so glad so many different library systems offer them.
California has a similar program found here: http://discoverandgo.org
I’m disappointed to see the museum I work at (a pricey place) is no longer on the list.
Yes! San Diego county and city libraries both have those passes
https://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/services/specialresources
http://www.sdcl.org/pr_2017-08-28b.html
Following up on Sally’s comment, my CA library also has Discover & Go, and it used to have an amazing array of free museum passes! But this year, it seems that the selection has declined. In past years, I’ve been able to get in to San Francisco’s California Academy of Sciences for free (one adult pass and one child’s pass per library card holder, per year). This year, it’s just smaller local museums and more “buy one, get one” sorts of deals.
It’s still worth checking out, though! I love these sorts of community boosting perks from the local library!
I believe the entry fee for the Metropolitan Museum is actually a suggested donation. You can actually get in without donating if you make a case for it. Donate if you can afford it by all means, but don’t let your budget keep you from looking at the art! Many smaller libraries in exurbs or suburbs may also have passes for museums in the bigger cities nearby.
I’m not sure what else Tennessee libraries offer, but I know that in Nashville you can get free passes to the Country Music Hall of Fame with your library card.
I checked the website and don’t see anything listed beyond the special collections from the past post.
In the Phoenix metropolitan area, there are many libraries that check out Culture Passes to library cardholders. The passes allow you and a guest to visit museums for free or see a performance (like the Symphony or a play). The organization that sponsors the program is called Act1AZ.org.
As a nanny I support this a million percent! I will never forget the time I went with my bosses to take the kids (then both under 5) to the children’s museum in Portland. We paid, got three feet in the door and the 4 year old had a complete meltdown so we all ate lunch, tried again, got about 5 feet in and there was another meltdown so we turned around and left bc the kids were just too exhausted. It was so expensive, and if the kids had actually been able to enjoy the museum it would have been worth it, and the kids seemed fine on the way, but they were just at the age where being overtired came on fast and completely destroyed any plans except nap time. It’s been 5 years since then and we’ve gone to the zoo and OMSI with no issues (better planning to avoid naptimes, shoveling snacks down the kids in the car on the way) but my bosses still haven’t been back to the children’s museum.
There have also been accidents (one museum has an indoor waterfall and both kids, despite being very well potty trained when they saw it, had accidents on three separate occasions while watching it, and there’s nothing like watching a 5 year old stare, completely enraptured, at a waterfall for a solid 5 minutes then turn to you and panickedly yell, “I’m peeing! What do I do?”), random injuries, and plenty of unexpected things that have popped up. Taking kids places can be such a gamble until they’re a certain age, it’s so amazing that there are ways to offset that financial risk.
I recently discover the Miami library offers different passes to Museums and Gardens.
https://www.mdpls.org/museum-pass/museum-pass.asp
I took my niece and great nephew to the Frost Science and definitely kid friend and interesting.
My library doesn’t offer any of this (being tiny I’m just happy they exist) but Denver is close by and they let you have a dual card. They have passes to all the state parks which come with activity backpacks. And passes to some of the museums in Denver. It only takes a minute to pick up items and then make our way when we are in town.