Alternate Title: How to Get Bounced from a Museum in Under 5 Minutes
Going to a museum with my children is never a boring experience. Occasionally an exhibit may be uninteresting, but my children rarely are. Unfortunately the docents usually do not appreciate my kids’ attempt to liven things up.
Just a few of the things my children have done on museum visits over the years:
While I was distracted paying the entrance fee, my children imitated Curious George and tried to climb on the dinosaur exhibit at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. In case you are wondering: yes, there are alarms. And Curious George and the Dinosaur
was immediately added to the list of banned books at our house.
No dinosaur was injured on this day. The Los Angeles Museum of Natural History has wisely added an interactive room where you can build a dinosaur. I’d like to think they learned something from their experience with my older children. 🙂
When my oldest son saw his first Rembrandt at the Norton Simon Museum, he shouted excitedly from across the room, “Look Mom, a frilled human”.
At the Point Vicente Interpretive Center’s exhibit on Grey Whales my kids started quoting Moby Dick: “What do you do when you see a Whale?”…”You sing out for it”…”What is it you do next?”…”Lower away and after him”…”What tune do ye sing when ye pulling?” …”A dead whale or a stove boat”.
Yeah, we know how to make friends.
And just as my kids could not resist imitating the Degas Sculptures at the Norton Simon, they were not able to resist reenacting the saber-tooth cat attacking the ground sloth at the Page Museum at La Brea Tar Pits:
Since I never know what my children will think of next or how forgiving the museum staff will be, I never know how long our museum visit will last. So it is imperative that I save money on museum entrance fees.
How to Save Money on Museum Entrance Fees:
Go on a Free to the Public Day. Most museums offer one day of the month or a couple days throughout the year when they are free to the public. Visit the museum’s website or give them a call and ask when they are offering free admittance.
Buy a membership We buy a family membership to all of our favorite museums. Usually a family membership is equal to the the price of 2 or 3 visits, so if it is a museum we visit frequently it is much more cost effective. It also provides you with an opportunity to do your Schwarzenegger impression and say, “I’ll be back” as you are being bounced from a museum.
Purchase a bundle. In some cities, you can buy a bundle that will provide admittance to several different museums for a discounted price over a 1 – 2 week period.
Use Groupon. Occasionally Groupon offers deals on museum entrance fees or memberships. I bought a family membership that was good for several local museums for half price, which was the equivalent of the entrance fees to one of the museums. You can ask for Groupon to send you deals on cities that you are planning on visiting in the future as well as local deals. And you can change your preferences for notifications whenever you wish.
Book a group tour. Usually museums offer a discount if you book a group tour. Visit the museum’s web site to see their minimum requirements for a group discount. This has the added the advantage that there is the possibility that your friend’s kids will behave worse than yours.
How do you save on museum visits?
More Tips for Visiting Museums with Kids
Tips for Visiting an Art Museum with Kids
Tasha says
Also try your bank. I know bank of America has free museum days for certain museums
April @ The 21st Century Housewife says
This post really made me smile. Your kids do get up to some great adventures! You’ve got some great tips here too.
Danielle Hull says
I can relate! My oldest son pulled the fire alarm at the college where I worked, then years later, my second son pulled the fire alarm at the Botanical Gardens. During the holidays. While there was a wedding and reception. Of course, your stories were funny 😉
Alea says
None of my kids have tried that one yet (knocking on wood!). Thanks for the laugh!
Swathi says
Nice tips Alea, going to museum is really big task for me with two little one.
Shirley @ gfe says
What a great post! It made me laugh out loud, Alea. 😉 But my sympathies on previous drama and stress at museums! Yes, museums are finally getting smarter on the need for kids to touch and be active, and that really is how they learn best after all. Great tips. One I’d add is if you happen to go at the end of the day, you might ask for a price break on the ticket. I would never have thought of this until I went to the Field Museum with some friends. They just casually asked if they could have a discount since there was only an hour left to see everything. We hadn’t planned to only have that much time, it just happened, but the discount we received was a big one. And another tip is to view your hometown from the tourist perspecive and check out the coupon booklets for tourists. There are some great discounts there. You might even find a combination deal that will allow you to experience something in your area that you haven’t before. 🙂
Shirley
Alea says
Great tips! Our local ski resorts offer discounts if you arrive in the late afternoon, but I never thought to ask museums if they do as well.
Good point on looking at your hometown as a tourist and looking for coupon booklets. I am actually going to write about staycations later in the week. Sometimes museums will offer really good deals to locals in the off season.
Caro says
Another trick is to check with your public library for discount or free vouchers. Have to reserve them ahead here, but certainly a great deal
Alea says
I am so glad you shared that Caro because that is the first time I have heard of that idea. I will definitely be looking into it. Thanks!