By Joanne Kleinle
No matter what the groundhog told us, we are at a tricky time of year. The calendar says winter, but spring is trying to break through and the weather is unpredictable. So what do we do with the kiddos who are itching to get out? The answer to this question, like so many others, can be found at your local library. All of our local libraries offer museum passes to residents, making select world-class museums, botanical gardens, and sculpture parks in our area affordable for the whole family to enjoy. These passes are a great find for everyone-not just families.
No matter what your interest is, we are within a stone’s throw of some of the world’s best museums: art museums, battleship museums, science and nature, sculpture parks, trades and crafts, interactive imagination museums, botanic gardens, and more. No wonder why more than 850 million people visit American museums each year-more than the attendance at baseball, basketball, football, and hockey games combined. Museums have been called “wormholes into other worlds” because they offer a great blend of entertainment and education about a whole range of topics. Better still- they are fun for all ages! The cost of going to these museums can be high for a family. Prices of guided tours range from $10 to more than $25 per ticket. With transportation and meals, the cost of the day can add up quickly. Fortunately, our local libraries offer passes to the museums for free or discounted admission to many of our area’s most popular destinations.
Participating museums vary from library to library. The first step in taking advantage of this great deal is to go directly to your town library’s website. When searching the sites, note that libraries in the Somerset County Library System call the passes “Cultural Adventure Passes.” Each site has a listing of available passes as well as the rules for taking them out. Most museums offer 2-4 admissions per pass.
Some passes are tickets that you pick up at the desk and they are valid until an expiration date. Most passes, however, are reusable so you reserve them from your library and then pick them up on the assigned day. You are then responsible for returning them to the library after your assigned period. There is no charge for getting a pass, but there are fees for losing the pass or returning it late to the library. If you have a specific date in mind, it is a good idea to reserve it in advance-especially during school vacations.
Every library has a different selection of passes available. Most libraries offer their passes only to their own residents. Check with the individual library for their specific rules.
Here are just a few of the great deals that may be available at your library. If you are looking to head into New York City, you might find passes for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, the Frick Collection, the American Museum of Natural History, the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum, or the Guggenheim.
A great find is the Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, New York-only about an hour’s drive away. This center has an indoor museum as well as sculpture and art installations located around the 500-acre campus.
Many libraries also have passes for museums in Philadelphia and even Boston-so be sure to check the website before planning that family road trip. It could simplify your planning while saving you money!
If you want to stay local, the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City offers a 10% discount if you show your library card. Many of our local libraries also have passes to the Morris Museum in Morristown, the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts in Madison, the Newark Museum, the USGA Museum in Far Hills, the Montclair Art Museum, Battleship New Jersey, and even Imagine That! Interactive Museum in Florham Park.
So beat the blues and enjoy a museum- without breaking the bank. Check out what your local library has to offer!