Beat the Heat with Summer Fun for Free!

Have you gotten an Exploration Card yet? The Community Exploration Card provides free general admission for up to four people to Red Butte Garden, Discovery Gateway, the Utah Museum of Natural History, and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.

How do you get one? Well anyone can get one if they have a Salt Lake City Library Card or sign up for one. Each month on the 1st of the month the Salt Lake City (not County) libraries receive a certain amount of these Exploration Cards and they are given away on a first come, first serve basis.

Some libraries will allow you to call ahead and have them hold it while you drive down to pick it up. Others it's completely on a walk in basis. Also you just have that month to use the card and see the different places.You are allowed to receive an Exploration Card every six months.

Just a tip, when I called the Main Salt Lake City Library to see if they had any cards the employee said they had a line before they even opened the doors. I called a couple other locations and they still had cards. So I would try one of the other locations. Don't have a library card? That's okay just make sure you bring ID and proof of residency so you can get one when you pick up the Exploration Card.

Last week we went to Discovery Gateway and spent three hours there! Unfortunately I forgot my camera but the kids had a blast.
Today we went to the Museum of Natural History and had so much fun! They have a frog exhibit with lots of frogs and toads. The kids loved it. The exhibit will be there until the middle of September so make sure you go before it is over. I asked an employee what the next exhibit would be and she said they probably wouldn't have any others for quite awhile.

They had a display with live bugs and spiders. I think I might have nightmares about all those creepy, crawly things but the kids were fascinated. My two year old was entertained the whole time. He never got bored. One of the fun things with this bug section was a little "theater" with bug hand puppets you could play with.
So mark your calendars for the first of the month so you can get your Exploration Card. Later this month we are going to hit the Red Butte Gardens. Hopefully we can go early or hit a day when it's not nearly 100 degrees outside.

For more information, contact The City Library at 524-8200.