Community Exploration Card Lets Families Visit Museums for Free

By Jessica Thompson 

Taylorsville - The Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum, located at The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City, has wonderful exhibits to help children learn. This museum has an exhibit called The Terrace, where children can put their rescue skills to the test as a pilot, paramedic or commando by sitting in an actual helicopter. 

Then there is the Leonardo Museum, where families can make a spooky movie scene this Halloween by using the museum’s green screen and animation technology. Visiting these family-fun museums can cost around $40 for a family of four. In order to offset costs, Salt Lake County Library Services has partnered with five museums in Utah to give patrons the Community Exploration Card so families can experience different museums in the Salt Lake Valley for free. 

 “This is such a great opportunity for families to help their kids experience something they might not have the opportunity to experience. The museums offer great hands-on learning and a chance to see different aspects of our community.” Susan Sticer, West Jordan Library manager, said.

The Community Exploration Card makes it possible to visit The Discovery Gateway, The Leonardo, Natural History Museum of Utah, Red Butte Garden and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts for free. 

“Our community partners were super excited to have people come and to see their many exhibits. The Discovery Gateway, Leonardo and the other museums were happy to be in partnership with this program.” Sticer said.

The card is valid for general admission for four people. A limited amount of cards are available for check out on the first day of the month. To make sure that many families have an opportunity to use this new program, cards are limited to one per household per year and expire at the end of the designated month. A Community Exploration Card can be picked up at the larger library branches: Sandy, Hunter or West Jordan libraries. Cards go quickly, so it is recommended for patrons to visit one of the three libraries early on the first day of the month to get the Community Exploration Card. 

 “We just bought a home and have two kids, so visiting a museum is something we can’t really afford right now. If it weren’t for the exploration card we wouldn’t be able to take my kids to such fun places.” Sammy Acree, a mom of two who stood in line to receive a Community Exploration Card, said.

Acree and her little girl were most excited to take their nephew and cousin to the Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum.

 “We hope families take advantage of the Community Exploration Card and work it into their schedule to visit each museum. We hope they have a great time,” Sticer said.