One more reason to love your local library? FREE passes to local museums and attractions. Many library districts offer some sort of pass that gives you FREE entry to every place from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Dinosaur Ridge to the Butterfly Pavilion and Denver Firefighters Museum. For a family of four, this can be a considerable savings and a way to explore a new or favorite attraction, without having to deal with the crowds of community-wide free days.
You do need a library card for each specific district to take advantage of these freebies, but don’t worry if you don’t have one.
Any Colorado resident can get a card for any library as long as you present some sort of photo ID at one of the library locations. Do be sure to check, as a few libraries insist you have a special “resident” library card to book the passes.
Once you have signed up, then you can typically reserve your pass online, just as you would put a hold on a book or DVD. A few systems even let you download and print out the pass. Here’s what’s available.
Arapahoe Libraries
Photo by Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Offers FREE Exploration Passes good for admission to the Butterfly Pavilion, Clyfford Still Museum, Colorado Railroad Museum, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Dinosaur Ridge, Four Mile Historic Park, Forney Museum of Transportation, Molly Brown House Museum, Denver Firefighters Museum, Museo de las Americas, Museum of Contemporary Art, National Ballpark Museum, Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum and Wings Over The Rockies.
Passes are available in limited quantities each day and allow different numbers of people to enter the attraction at no cost.
Because the Exploration Pass page can be sorted by date, the simplest method is to pick your day and see what’s available.
Be sure to read the “Pass Information” for each attraction. Some passes admit four people, others only two. And you are limited in the number you can get in a 30-day period.
Denver Libraries
Denver Firefighter Museum. Photo by Linnea Covington
The Denver Public Library has partnered with area museums and cultural institutions to offer FREE admission for DPL cardholders. Book a Museum or Cultural Pass online up to 2 weeks in advance and print your confirmation to gain entry to the museum.
Current partners include: Butterfly Pavilion, Center for Colorado Women’s History, Clyfford Still Museum, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Firefighters Museum, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver Trolley, Dinosaur Ridge, Forney Museum of Transportation, Four Mile Historic Park, History Colorado Center, Molly Brown House Museum, Museo de las Americas, MCA Denver and Wings Over The Rockies.
A permanent DPL library card in good standing is required to make a reservation to all cultural institutions; the card holder may be asked to present a valid ID and library card at the museum.
Each cardholder may reserve a pass once every 182 days at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, all other passes may be reserved every 30 days.
Check the museum or cultural institution’s website prior to your visit for unexpected closures or special events.
Jefferson County Libraries
Colorado Railroad Museum photo
Has a Culture Pass which can be used at the Butterfly Pavilion, Center for Colorado Women’s History, Clyfford Still Museum, History Colorado, Denver Firefighters Museum, Colorado Railroad Museum, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys, Dinosaur Ridge, Four Mile Historic Park, MCA Denver, Molly Brown House, Museo de las Americas, Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, The Denver Trolley and Wings Over The Rockies.
You can reserve a pass up to 30 days ahead of time and book a maximum of two passes every 30 days.
Douglas County Libraries
History Colorado Center. Photo by Linnea Covington
Offers FREE Adventure Passes good for admission to the Butterfly Pavilion, Dinosaur Ridge, History Colorado Center and Denver Firefighters Museum. Passes are available in limited quantities each day and allow different numbers of people to enter the attraction at no cost.
Because the Adventure Pass page can be sorted by date, the simplest method is to pick your day and see what’s available.
Be sure to read the “Pass Information” for each attraction. Some passes admit four people, others only two. And you are limited in the number you can get in a 90-day period.
Westminster Library
Clyfford Still Museum. Photo by Linnea Covington
Offers an Adventure Pass with free admission to the Butterfly Pavilion, Clyfford Still Museum, Colorado State Parks, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Firefighters Museum, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver Trolley, Dinosaur Ridge, Golf Westminster, Molly Brown House, Museo de las Americas, Wings Over The Rockies, Standley Lake Regional Park, Westminster Recreation Centers and WOW! Children’s Museum.
Because each pass has different terms and conditions (such as which passes are online and which are physical), the best way to figure out what’s what is to check out the Adventure Pass site.
Aurora Public Library
Photo by Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Currently does not offer attraction passes.
Longmont Public Library
The Japanese Garden. Courtesy of Denver Botanic Gardens. © Scott Dressel-Martin
Partners with many local museums and attractions to offer FREE daily passes to patrons through the Library’s website. These Discovery Passes are a ticket to history, art, science, culture, and nature all along the Front Range, accessible with just an adult Longmont resident library card.
Partners include: Butterfly Pavilion, Clyfford Still Museum, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Firefighters Museum, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Dinosaur Ridge, Fiske Planetarium, Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, Longmont Museum, Molly Brown House Museum, Museum of Boulder, Wings Over The Rockies and WOW! Children’s Museum.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Lake Pueblo State Park / Colorado Parks & Wildlife photo
Has teamed up with all libraries across the state to offer the Check-Out Colorado State Park Program. Each library has just two seven-day hang-tag park passes good for entrance to all 42 state parks, and they can be reserved just as books can.