www.pittsburghmagazine.com: Pittsburghers made more than 53,000 free visits to the city’s cultural amenities last summer — all thanks to having a library card.
It was all part of the inaugural Summer Staycation 2024 RAD Pass, which provided Allegheny County library card holders free access to local attractions and museums that typically charge daily admission.
4 comments:
I knew I loved the library. I’ve been visiting the public library since before I could talk or walk. My mom told me the first time she brought me to the library I was only a few months old. Growing up she would take me to nearly every single storytime hour, craft hour, or random events geared for kids. Apparently we were often the only people to show up in a snowstorm one time, and the librarians kept the event open because they were sure we’d show up. Needless to say, I love reading and I absolutely love visiting different libraries. Last week I finally went to the Pittsburgh public library branch in Squirrel Hill, and had an absolute blast looking at book titles and notating the more interesting ones for further perusal. It warms my heart to read here that a library card gets you free access to a bunch of the best educational and cultural institutions in Pittsburgh. This is a great way to expand access to resources for more people.
With all of the fun things to do in Pittsburgh, I wish I were planning to spend time in the city over the summer. I feel as though I have barely scratched the surface of cool things to see in the city, but one of my favorite adventures I have been on was riding the Duquesne Incline at night to see the city lights. At the top of the incline, one can explore the mini museum that tells about the history of the attraction and shows and explains the machinery behind the incline car. In my experience, a library membership is one of the most powerful free accounts one can have. I used to work at the library in my hometown, and it always surprised me the number of free tickets one could get through their library. Not just tickets to places, but also tools and games with a system often referred to as “more than books” that can allow oneself to discover hobbies and interests. I LOVE libraries! I wish more people would take the time to understand what their local libraries offer.
I think that, living in a city as culturally rich and exciting as Pittsburgh, I ought to be exploring these free attractions a lot more often! At the beginning of the year, Susan had everyone in our Basic Design I class visit a Pittsburgh landmark and present a report on it. In my Sensing Place through Color class, the professor had us go to Phipps Botanical Garden and create a color palette from what we found. Getting off campus and exploring is such an effective way to find new inspiration. As simple as it sounds, a change of scenery can generate so many fresh ideas. This is especially true in Pittsburgh, where so many places offer free summer admission and free year-round admission for students: The Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History, the Carnegie Science Center, the National Aviary, and the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium, for example. Before I move out, I hope I get a chance to visit some more of these places and see everything Pittsburgh has to offer.
I think it is something really cool that this program and pass exists, as there is so much to go see and do in Pittsburgh. I did not grow up in Pittsburgh, I moved around a lot to different states, being able to access the local cultural places, like libraries and museums is how I connected to those places faster than if I were to have been left just going to and from school and home. Museums especially are so much fun to go experience and I have learned so much through them. Taking a staycation is a concept I think is so much fun and I like that the pass has that as part of its marketing. There have been multitudes of people who have lived in such interesting cities and places, but since they lived there, they never went to do ‘tourist-y’ things. Marketing as a staycation could open the door to have people come on a more regular basis, which would be really neat.
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