We love taking our kids to Chicago Area museums and enjoy the availability of free museum passes. Did you know that you can visit the Adler Planetarium, Art Institute, Field Museum or Brookfield Zoo for FREE with a museum passport from the Chicago Public Library? (click at bottom for more info)

Passes for families of up to four people are available for check out from Chicago Public Library branches. Each library location has a limited number of Passports for each of the 13 museums that participate in the program, and one Museum Passport can be checked out per person, per loan period. The loan period for each Great Kids Museum Passport is one week. Might be just the thing for a rainy summer day. Or week. More information and a list of participating museums and institutions is available at the link below.

How the Kids Museum Passports Work

Adult residents of the City of Chicago may check out a Museum Passport at any Chicago Public Library location with their valid Chicago Public Library card. One Museum Passport can be checked out per person, per loan period. The loan period for each Kids Museum Passport is ONE WEEK. A group must include at least one child under 18 for the pass to be valid. A maximum of two (2) adults are admitted with the pass. See specific rules for each museum below. Each library location has a limited number of Museum Passports for each of the 15 museums. The overdue fine for Museum Passports is $2 per day, with a maximum overdue fine of $20. The charge for a LOST Museum Passport is $60, plus any overdue fines. Only one Museum Passport per household may be checked out at one time. Museum Passports must be returned to the main desk of the library location where they were checked out. Museum Passports cannot be renewed or reserved. There will be a waiting period of 24 hours after returning a Museum Passport before another passport from the same museum may be checked out to any adult member of the same family.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FREEE MUSEUM PASSES IN CHICAGO.