Discovery Museums

If you live in Massachusetts or will be visiting the area with children and have not discovered the Discovery Museums in Acton, you should add them to your list of places to visit.

The museums are focused on child-centered hands on learning. The picture above is of the Children's Discovery Museum. When you arrive, you will see this building first. The museum is an old Victorian building that focuses on younger children providing age appropriate activities. One ticket price provides admission to both museums so there is no need to decide which museum is better suited to your child. You can explore both and decide where to focus your time.

Library passes are available at many Massachusetts libraries. The Discovery Museum website even provides a list of the participating libraries for visitors to check when planning your visit. AAA members can also receive a $1.00 discount off admission for the member and up to three guests. While I usually do not usually promote membership, if you live in the area, the extra hours for members can make considering museum membership a possibility. If you visit frequently and your children enjoy a place to play during the cold winter months, the memberships can pay off. I would suggest taking your children a few times to see if you would visit often enough to make membership worth the cost.

The Chain Reaction Room was an early favorite at the Museum and it has returned to the delight of many of the guests.

This is the Science Discovery Museum. It was built after the Children's Museum opened and is focused on hands on science discovery for children. The rooms are larger and a bit more accessible than those found in the old Victorian house. The additional space allows the Museum to provide special programs and activities that the Children's Museum does not have the space to offer.

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AAA Attraction Discounts

I used to make the mistake of thinking of AAA as the people I contacted when the car broke down and I needed help or the place to go before I went on vacation. I often forget to check them out for local stuff and that costs me money. Since I am already a member, using my membership to get additional discounts costs me nothing, but the time to check.

I was reminded of this recently when planning a weekend museum trip. The website kindly listed the discounts they offered. AAA was one of them. As I wrote about in a previous blog, the library pass program was a better deal. However, you cannot always count on getting a pass when you want one. The AAA discount is not limited to a specific number of residents per day.

This inspired me to research what other discounts were available in my area. AAA will provide you with a link to your local branch. At our AAA I discovered discounts to places we are planning to visit this summer as well as a place I was not aware of that is now on my must visit list. The EcoTarium in Worcester provides indoor and outdoor science explorations for students and families. For an additional cost, they have a canopy walk, train ride, and Planetarium. Doing further research I discovered our library does have a better pass, but it will not cover the number of people who want to attend, if we can even secure it for the day we want it. Since most of our family members have AAA, we can reduce the cost for all who travel with us, based on the AAA offer available at this site.

I am going to be talking about some other ways to reduce your costs while visiting local attractions this summer. There are many ways to avoid paying full price. Evaluating your options will help you generate the best cost savings.