Museums on Us

Free museum entry for you around the country

July 3, 2010Harriet BaskasAviation history, Exhibits, Free StuffBlue Star Museums, Bronx Zoo, Free museum entry, Henry Ford Muesum, Intrepid Air & Space Museum, July 4th, Museums on Us

A lot of businesses close during holiday weekends, but during this July 4^th holiday plenty of museums, zoos and special attractions will be open.

Thanks to the Bank of America’s Museums on Us program, admission to more than 120 museums will be free this weekend for anyone who has one of the bank’s ATM, credit or check cards.

If you’re visiting New York City, you might head on over to the Bronx Zoo or to the Intrepid Air & Space Museum

Or, if you’re in Detroit, spend a few hours at the Henry Ford Museum (Bank of America free admission on Saturday only), which has just about everything, including a collection of Presidential limousines and a great Heroes of the Sky exhibit.

(From the Henry Ford Museum collection; a photo of Wilbur Wright in the Flyer)

An even better deal: admission and parking at the Henry Ford Museum is free to everyone on July 16^th as part of Target Family Days

(1917 Curtiss JN 4-D “Canuck” Biplane. On display at the Henry Ford Museum)

See the Museums of Us website to find other museums, zoos and attractions offering free admission this weekend as part of the Bank of America program. And don’t forget that through Labor Day, September 6, 2010, more than 850 museums around the country are offering free admission anytime to active duty service members and up to five family members as part of the Blue Star Museums program.

(Free) Tidbits for travelers: doughnuts, museums, zoos & more

June 4, 2010Harriet BaskasArt, Exhibits, Food, Free StuffBlue Star Museums, free donuts, Free museum admission, Harvard Muesum of Natural History, Museums on Us, National Doughnut Day, National Park

If you’re traveling anywhere this weekend, or just exploring your own town, here are some freebies that may come in handy.

(Photo courtesy Flickr member istolethetv)

Friday, June 4^th is National Doughnut Day! The Salvation Army created this sweet holiday back in 1938 as a fundraising event, but the day is now celebrated with free doughnuts. Krispy Kreme stores throughout the country are giving out free doughnuts (one per customer) and you’ll get a free donut if you buy a coffee drink at most Dunkin Donut stores. Many local, independent donut shops will also be honoring the day with free donuts, so if you’re in a new town, map out a donut tour and explore.

This weekend is the first full weekend of the month and that means you can get free admission at more than 100 museums around the country if you have a Bank of America debit, credit or ATM-card.

Check the Museums on Us list to see if there’s a museum, zoo, or other local attraction near you participating in the program.. One of my favorites on the list is the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which currently has a great exhibition titled Headgear, which is all about the natural history of horns and antlers.

(Photo by Andrew Shaper, courtesy Harvard Museum of Natural History)

Also this weekend more than 100 national parks that usually charge entrance fees will also open their gates for free.

And from now through Labor Day, more than 750 museums (the list just keeps on growing) around the country are offering free admission to active duty military families through the National Endowment for the Art’s Blue Star Museums program.

Flying this weekend? Get free museum admission

February 6, 2009Harriet BaskasFree Stuff, MuseumsAmerican Visionary Art Museum, Autry National Center of the American West, Bank of America, Museums on Us

No telling how long any bank will be around these days, so if you’re traveling this weekend take advantage of a bank-sponsored program that offers free museum admissions.

For at least two years now, Bank of America’s Museums on Us program has been offering bank cardholders (ATM, credit, debit) free admission to more than 70 museums around the country on the first weekend of each month.

A good choice for this weekend: Baltimore’s American Visionary Art Museum or perhaps the Autry National Center of the American West which currently has an exhibit called Bold Caballeros Y Noble Bandidas.

George Yepes, Adelita

Free admission at more than 70 museums

January 3, 2009Harriet BaskasArt, Free Stuff, MuseumsHartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Museums on Us

If you’re traveling this weekend and have a Bank of America check, credit or ATM card (or a friend who does) you can get free admission at more than 70 museums in two dozen states as part of the Museums on Us program.

One good choice: In Atlanta, you can get immersed in a world of dinosaurs at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, where the regular admission is $15 for adults.

If you can’t get to the museum, keep in mind that a replica of a 33-foot-long Yangchuanosaurus skeleton (on loan from the Fernbank) is in the atrium at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.