My budget-conscious travelers know that the best way to save money on tourist attractions is to plan your trip around the free museum days offered by most major museums. When we’re not on the road, most of us are working our 9-5 jobs during the week, which also happens to be when most free museum days occur. The cost of weekend admission is one of the biggest things deterring people from visiting the incredible museums that are right in their own backyards…but what if I told you free museum day could be every day?
Let’s get back to the basics of Vagarious Wanderer here.
Some of you may have noticed that I changed my catchphrase from something really long and unnecessary to this:
Encouraging women to explore their own backyards.
(Shoutout to TravelCon and Clay Hebert for helping me to simplify it.) This is the core principle that Vagarious Wanderer was founded on. No matter where you are in the world, I want to show you that some of the “tourist traps” in your own state, region, etc are actually worth it! And you don’t need to blow your entire dream European vacation savings to do it!
The travel hack I am about to share with you is not some big secret and it is achievable for everyone.
Are you ready for it?
Are you sure?
Okay…here it goes…
Get a library card.
No, this isn’t some “explore the world through the pages of a good book” plug. (Though you can totally do that too.) Almost every single library offers either free or discounted passes to local attractions. Don’t live in a major city? That’s okay! A lot of smaller libraries still offer passes to some of the bigger attractions in the cities nearby. Looking for free things to do in order to have a great day out? Looking for a way to impress your new boo but don’t want to break the bank? Just looking for a cheap day trip with your friends?
Get. A. Library. Card.
Unless you have seen everything there is to see in your closest major city, I don’t want to hear that you can’t afford to travel. Taking the subway three stops is traveling. Walking ten minutes in the opposite direction that you go every day is traveling. Driving 30 minutes into town is traveling! Are you broadening your horizons? Are you seeing things you’ve never seen before? Are you learning new things? Then that, my friends, is traveling. Get yourself into that mindset and you’ll be amazed at how much more fulfilled you feel.
“But Jenn, what if I’ve already taken advantage of all the library museum passes I can get in my city?”
This is where the real fun begins in my opinion…did you know that a lot of major cities will let you get a library card without actually living in that city? Take Boston Public Library for example. I do not live in Boston. However, I do have a Massachusetts license. This is all I need to qualify for a BPL library card and use the library museum passes they offer. Libraries all over the country have a similar program. Some libraries, like the New York Public Library, even allow out-of-state visitors to get “temporary” library cards that still offer all the same perks.
Below I am going to do some of the heavy lifting for you and break down some of the incredible experiences you can get with library cards from some of the biggest libraries in the USA.
Ann Arbor District Library:
Locations: AADL has five locations throughout Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Do I need to be an Ann Arbor resident? No, although if you do not live within the Ann Arbor district you may be required to pay a fee for a non-resident card.
What do I get?
AADL cardholders are able to get a Michigan Activity Pass. This pass gives you access to well over 30 attractions, including the Argus Camera Museum, Michigan Historical Museum, Allegan Old Jail Museum, Jiffy Mix Factory Tour, and so so so much more!
Boston Public Library:
Locations: 26
Do I need to be a Boston resident? No, but you do need to be a Massachusetts resident. If you do not have a Massachusetts ID but you are a student for at least part of the year, you are also eligible for a BPL library card.
What do I get?
Boston Public Library museum passes are easily my favorite…but I’m biased. Not all are free, but you can get incredible discounts on some of the city’s biggest attractions.
Discounted Tickets
Boston Harbor Islands: A little known fact about Boston is that we actually have a bunch of little islands that are absolutely perfect for day trips. There is an island for everyone, whether you are looking to spend a day having a relaxing picnic, hiking, or seeing some pretty cool historical sites. With a BPL card, you can get two ferry passes for the price of one. However, this discount is only available during weekdays up until Labor Day Weekend. After Labor Day the discount is valid 7 days a week.
Institute of Contemporary Art: Get up to $5 off up to two adult admissions.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: One of the most beautiful museums in the city, you can get up to $5 off up to four adult admissions if visiting during the week and up to two adult admissions if visiting on a weekend or holiday.
Zoo New England: With your Boston Public Library card, you can get discounted tickets for both adults and children. You are also entitled to 10% off concessions and at the gift store.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum: Your BPL card gets you $3 off admission for up to two adults.
Free Museum Admission:
Mary Baker Eddy Library and Mapparium (up to four people 6 and over)
Boston Museum of Science (up to four people)
New England Aquarium (up to four people)
USS Constitution Museum (up to nine people)
And so many more…
Chicago Public Library:
Locations: 81
Do I need to be a Chicago resident? Yes, in order to use the museum passes you must be a Chicago resident.
What do I get?
Chicago is a bit different from other libraries and will take some work on your end…instead of just providing museum passes like most libraries, they provide what is called a “Kids Museum Passport”. Most passes require you to have someone under the age of 18 with you in order for the pass to be valid, but not all. It is not totally clear which passes do not require a child with you, so I would definitely recommend asking your librarian. Some of the attractions included with the passport are: Adler Planetarium, Chicago History Museum, The Field Museum, and Shedd Aquarium.
Los Angeles Public Library:
Locations: 73
Do I need to live in Los Angeles? No, but if you do not live in the state of California you will need to pay a fee.
What do I get?
With your LAPL card, you get free access to a number of institutions including: Grammy Museum, Chinese American Museum, Natural History Museum, Catalina Island Museum. In order to see how many guests each pass permits, you must be logged into your account.
Miami-Dade Public Library:
Locations: 50
Do I need to live in Miami? Sort of…you must live in the Miami-Dade Public Library taxing district.
What do I get?
For most locations, you get admission for up to four adults. These attractions include: The Bass, Coral Gables Museum, The Curtiss Mansion, Deering Estate, Fruit & Spice Park, HistoryMiami Museum, Jewish Museum of Florida, lowe Art Museum, Perez Art Museum Miami, Zoo Miami, and more.
New York Public Library:
Locations: 2 (most boroughs are served by their own library system)
Do I need to live in New York? No.
What do I get?
With a NYPL card, you can get what is called a “Culture Pass” for two or four people. These passes will give you access to an insane amount of attractions, including: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum, Louis Armstrong House, Museum of Modern Art, New York Transit Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art.
Phoenix Public Library:
Locations: 17
Do I need to live in Phoenix? In order to get a free library card, you must live within Maricopa County; all other Arizona residents can pay a fee in order to get a card. Non-Arizona residents are not eligible.
What do I get?
Like New York, PPL offers Culture Passes, but these only admit up to two people. Participating locations include: Arizona Science Center, Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve, Desert Botanical Garden (one of my favorite parts of Phoenix), Phoenix Art Museum, Pueblo Grande Museum, Superstition Mountain Museum, and a few more.
Sacramento Public Library:
Locations: 30
Do I need to live in Sacramento? Unclear.
What do I get?
With a SPL card, you get free access for up to two people to the following institutions: Chico Air Museum, Contra Costa County History Center, History Park, Janet Turner Print Museum, The Lace Museum, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, Palo Alto Art Center, Peninsula Museum of Art, San Lorenzo Valley Museum, SOMArts Cultural Center, Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum, and Travis AFB Heritage Center.
Seattle Public Library:
Locations: 27
Do I need to live in Seattle? You must live, work, go to school, or own property in King County.
What do I get?
Seattle Public Library museum passes include: Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum, MoPop Museum of Pop Culture, Museum of Flight, Seattle Aquarium, and a bunch more. Most of these passes allow admission of up to two people, some are up to four.
Worcester Public Library:
Locations: 7
Do I need to live in Worcester? No, but you do need to be a Massachusetts resident.
What do I get?
Again, I am biased, but I personally think the options for Worcester Public Library museum passes are a little more fun and give you options for true day trips. Similar to Boston Public Library, Worcester offers free passes to some institutions and discounted admission to others.
Discounted Passes:
Davis Farmland – Discount is on up to four people, but the discounted amount varies depending on the time of year.
Ecotarium – 50% off admission up to two adults and two children as long as you are all in the same car.
Boston Museum of Fine Arts – admits up to two people for $10 each
Mystic Aquarium – $4 off admission for up to four people (Mystic Aquarium also has events that allow you to brunch with penguins…I haven’t done it yet…but I’m just saying…)
Worcester Art Museum – 50% off admission for up to two adults and two kids
Worcester Bravehearts – half price tickets for up to four people, and you get a baseball hat as well
Free Passes:
The Butterfly Place- only admits one person
USS Constitution Museum – admits up to nine people
Worcester Historical Museum – admits up to two people
All of these options are of course subject to change, so always check with your library first. Most of these passes also require you to reserve them in advance, so check your library’s policies about this before getting your heart set on doing something at the last minute.
Or, you can always live vagariously by showing up to your library, asking what passes are available at the moment, and going!
(If you need ideas on where to head next, I would highly recommend reading 1,000 Places to See in the United States and Canada Before You Die!)
Have you had any experience using library museum passes? Have you been able to take advantage of any international library museum passes? Let me know, I want to hear all about it!
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