Forgive me for my lack of Thrifty reporting on Thursday. This week has flown by. We have been blessed to have three showings of our home this week, and that, coupled with either George or myself being out every night this week, left me with less time to write.But, however jammed packed the schedule seemed to be, I was still able to pull out my Thifty hat and wear it proudly.
One thing I will sorely miss about Chicago are the FREE MUSEUM DAYS!
Last Spring Break, I took the kids to several Chicago museums on the days where they welcomed the public for FREE. We visited the Chicago Historical Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. You can read further about our adventures, here.
On President's Day this year, I took the kids back to the Chicago Historical Museum, so they could meet President Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd, George Washington, Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Teddy Roosevelt. The day was wonderful, complete with an hour long discussion with President Lincoln and his wife who even fielded questions about current Illinois politics. I enjoyed how Abe showed confusion over any questions from the audience regarding his death. After all, he was still sitting there, wasn't he? It was great. Harper, especially, enjoyed the performance.
Yesterday, I took Zane on a date to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum - one of our favorite spots. Thursday is free day. And if you get there right at 9:00 - you won't have to contend with parking. If you get there at 9:30, you WILL contend with parking and the place becomes strollerville. If you arrive around 10:30, once again parking because a dream, and the strollerville crowd begins to clear out a bit.
Zane enjoyed being "the scientist" and even had a special scientist walk. He showed me, the student, around the place. We had a small bite in the cafe, which serves organic food, and I was able to walk the museum with a cup of coffee - yes, that is important! Don't you know me?
Surprisingly, he showed absolutely NO interest in watching the water snakes during feeding time, but was quite interested in listening to frog and toad sounds (they have a GREAT exhibit on frogs and toads right now).
So, here is a list of a few FREE MUSEUM DAYS in Chicago.
Note: If you can't handle crowds, or children, you may not want to take advantage of the free days - you'll just end up complaining. No judgement here, I'm merely trying to save you from having a bad experience.
(This list is subject to change, and is just an offering. It is not a comprehensive list).
Monday
- The Chicago History Museum
- Chicago Children's Museum: Free admission on the first Monday of every month for kids 15 and younger (adults are not free). This will change to Sundays in May.
Tuesday
- Museum of Contemporary Art
- The Art Institute of Chicago has free days in February. Considering that it is now February 27 there is only one more day to take advantage of this. The schedule then returns to FREE evenings, after 5:00 pm on Thursdays.
Wednesday
Thursday
- Chicago Children's Museum: Free from5-8 on Thursday evenings.
- DuSable Museum of African American History
- Museum of Science and Industry
For a more comprehensive list, check out this site, but be sure to doublecheck with the actual museum.
I'm looking forward to seeing what Pittsburgh has to offer in terms of free museum days!!!
1 comment:
If you want to get to the Art Institute now that it's past February and don't feel like going in the evening, stop by my house. Everytime my children go on a field trip there, they are handed a stackful of family passes. I think I have a lifetime supply at this point. :-)
E.
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