ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown Public Library's Museum Pass program has expanded to collaborate with nearly 20 museums throughout Eastern Pennsylvania.
The Museum Passes give the borrowers free entrance to 17 museums, gardens and historic sites.
They're available exclusively to adult residents of Allentown and Salisbury Township school districts, though other libraries in the Lehigh Valley provide similar services.
- Allentown Public Library's Museum Pass program has expanded to collaborate with nearly 20 museums across Eastern Pennsylvania
- The program, initiated eight years ago, covers attractions within an hour of Allentown, providing residents with opportunities to explore diverse cultural experiences
- By borrowing all available passes, visitors could save a total of $1,305.70
"We started the Museum Pass program about eight years ago with three museums," APL's Outreach Librarian Nan Sherman said. They were "America on Wheels, the Allentown Art Museum and the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum."
Cardholder Savings
The program covers attractions within an hour of Allentown, according to Sherman. The aim is to provide opportunities for residents to explore a diverse range of cultural experiences.
"If you borrowed all of our passes and visited every museum for free, you would save $1,305.70."APL's Outreach Librarian Nan Sherman
"If you borrowed all of our passes and visited every museum for free, you would save $1,305.70," Sherman said.
She said visiting the average museum costs about $80 for a family of four, and most of APL's museum passes allow for more than four people.
Besides having the largest collection of passes in the area, the library intends to encourage a quick turnover by limiting borrowing periods to three days.
Each pass comes with an envelope containing relevant information on events, parking, driving directions and online reservation requirements, if applicable.
The program caters to interests as diverse as car enthusiasts, history buffs, art lovers and outdoor enthusiasts.
A list — and favorites
Here's a list of featured places:
- African American Museum of Philadelphia
- America on Wheels, Allentown
- Historic Bethlehem Museum and Sites
- The Bucks County Children’s Muse, New Hope, Buck County
- Chanticleer, A Pleasure Garden, Wayne, Delaware County
- Da Vinci Science Center, South Whitehall Township
- Elmwood Park Zoo, Norristown, Montgomery County
- Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia
- Mercer Museum, Doylestown, Bucks County
- Mütter Museum, Philadelphia
- Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens
- National Museum of Industrial History, Bethlehem
- Pearl S. Buck House, Perkasie, Bucks County
- Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Strasburg, Lancaster County
- Reading Public Museum
- Washington Crossing Historical Park
Sherman has some personal favorites she'd like to encourage you to visit.
"Art lover? Try the Philadelphia Magic Garden’s mosaic creations, and remember that the Allentown Art Museum is always free."APL's Outreach Librarian Nan Sherman
"Art lover? Try the Philadelphia Magic Garden’s mosaic creations, and remember that the Allentown Art Museum is always free," she said.
As for history buffs, she suggests exploring Bethlehem’s Historic sites and the Industrial History Museum, plus the castles at Mercer and Fonthill in Doylestown, Bucks County.
"If you want to get outdoors, try the Chanticleer Gardens or the Park at Washington Crossing," she said. "Kids and adults enjoy the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the Buck’s County Children’s Museum or the oddities at the Mütter Museum."
For more information, visit APL's website.
