Family Fun on the Cheap

Buy One Museum Membership, Get 164 Free

Ask the children’s museum in your area if it participates in the Association of Children’s Museums Reciprocal Program. If it does, purchase a tax-deductible family membership to that museum and you’ll get free admission for four visitors (from the same household) to more than 165 children’s museums nationwide. In Illinois, for example, your family can join the nearest kids’ museum for about $100 and have access to the nationwide network, including 12 children’s museums within the state. Even if your gang visits one museum once a month, that comes out to a bargain $2 per person per visit.