A great alternative to day camp? Buy a Science Museum membership! Here’s Why (and What and How, too!)
Last year, my wife and I talked about sending both our girls at least part of the summer to the day camp that our Montessori nursery school runs. I thought it would make a great transition for our youngest, 2, to be in school with her sister in a familiar setting. Our oldest was in Pre-K that year, and of course the little one often got to go to the school to drop big sis off. I figured, well, it’d be an environment she knew, with teachers who knew her because of her sister, and with her sister there, she’d be okay and not cry too much for her mommy. But it was a pretty big time commitment, and neither of us was prepared to send her that much, and the truth is, we liked the idea of a summer vacation being something separate from a school atmosphere. So we thought about how we might spend the money that would have gone to camp.
After realizing that we didn’t really have that kind of money anyway, we decided that, since the girls loved museums and zoos, we would buy memberships. One of the benefits of living where we do is that we have access to lots of local art and science museums and a large number of zoos big and small. For just over a hundred dollars, we bought a membership to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which gave us free admission to the Bronx Zoo, Central Park, Prospect Park, and Queens Zoos, and the New York Aquarium. Included in the package are some free parking passes for the Aquarium and the Bronx Zoo (both of which are extremely popular), and a few extra passes for the special Bronx Zoo rides. Given the cost of one day’s admission for a family of four, it made perfect sense for us to spend a little more and get all the perks. We go several times a year to the Prospect Park Zoo and the Aquarium, and if we get to the Bronx Zoo more than once it’s a total steal. And we even got a free t-shirt this year!
Not everybody has this much wildlife near them, but almost everybody has some kind of science or technology center or museum close by, and the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) has a super deal: join one of over 200 such centers throughout the world, and you can receive free admission to any of the other participating ASTC science museums. There are a few restrictions, but we seem to have had no problem so far. For more info go to the ASTC web site. http://www.astc.org/members/passlist_about.htm
We joined the Franklin Institute, located in Philadelphia, PA, because at the time the web site had a special offer on a family membership: $60 (most of the other places were charging $65 or $70). The museum is home to the famous Giant Heart and other great exhibits; kids can make paper, there’s a lot of interactive hands-on stuff for them, plus a good planetarium and an IMAX theater (separate admission for IMAX, though members do get some deals). Since we joined, we have visited the museum twice, but we’ve also visited the Peabody Museum at Yale University, the North Museum of Natural History and Science in Lancaster, PA, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Liberty Science Center in New Jersey, the and New York Hall of Science in Queens. We joined in the spring, and before the summer was over the membership paid for itself, and the girls learned a lot, especially our oldest, who got to see a cow’s eye dissection, a brain dissection, and video footage of cataract surgery (which her grandmother had over the summer). She also got to use lasers to perform numerous “surgeries.”
The real bonus for us was to be together and doing “neat stuff!” We went in numerous combinations – my wife took the girls to one place, I took them to another (with my nephew helping out in the summer monsoons!), we all went to more together. They are both still very young, and this time is relatively short. We wanted to be with them. This kind of summer “camp” is not for everyone; we are lucky that I have a job that gives me time flexibility, especially in the summer months, and my wife still works (technically) part-time. If you are working full time and can’t get the time off, you may find camp to be an essential aspect of your child’s summer. But anyone who is looking into a low-cost family experience, joining an ASTC member museum is a great way to go.
Just read the restrictions carefully; the ASTC web site notes that centers within 90 miles of your membership museum are excluded unless agreed upon by those other centers, but we have had no troubles so far. Keep in mind also that reciprocal admission refers only to the main admission to the museum; special exhibits are not covered, nor is parking (the FI offers validation for a reduced parking rate at their garage; other places offer free parking for members). And while your membership museum will likely give you discounts at the gift shop and at any restaurant or food concession stands on site, that reciprocity is not applied when you go elsewhere. We usually pack sandwiches; the NY Hall of Science has an outdoor eating garden and my oldest and I had a nice picnic there. We work pretty well with the rules they give us.
Kids love to see and learn how things work; science museums are getting more kid-friendly every year, and taking your children there is a great opportunity to be involved in their learning.
Enjoy!