Museum Pass Adventures

(Featuring Elmwood Park Zoo and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts)

Museum passes are some of the library’s most unique resources. Thanks to the “Friends of the Library” groups from each of the Mercer County Library System (MCLS) branches, thousands of patrons are able to go to museums annually. (Please visit the Mercer County Library System’s website for more information on joining your local Friends group, or please see this helpful blog post to find out more about the Friends’ activities).

Two museums I have recently had the pleasure of visiting, courtesy of the MCLS museum pass program, were Elmwood Park Zoo and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. 

Elmwood Park Zoo is a great place to take young children, especially children on the autism spectrum. The Zoo is very aware about which senses will be stimulated for each activity on the grounds. The Zoo specifies the amount of sound, touch, smell, sight, movement and complexity each activity requires. Clear signage allows parents and guardians to make decisions about what activities will work well with their family. One of the reasons for this is that “Elmwood Park Zoo is the first zoo in the world to become a Certified Autism Center (CAC). This designation, given by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), is awarded to organizations that have completed a training and review process with the goal to better serve individuals with autism and other sensory needs,” (Elmwood Park Zoo Sensory Guide). The Zoo definitely has quiet zones throughout the park, the most deliberate of which is the “multi-purpose quiet space” by the William’s Prairie Dog Town. This quiet space is fenced off with a nice bench and some pretty flowers to provide a few moments of rest in between activities. 

Some fun activities for children at the Elmwood Park Zoo are the Thomas Kimmel Playgrounds, the barn, the giraffes and the Percussion Garden. The playground is fairly large and in the center of the zoo, near a couple of food stands. This is a great spot for families who are hungry and eager to play. Towards the entrance of the park is a barn with plenty of donkeys, goats and sheep for children to pet. For $1.00, zoo patrons can feed the animals, too. Also near the Zoo’s entrance is the giraffe exhibit, where for $4.00 people can feed the giraffes at designated times, (Elmwood Park Zoo Shows & Attractions). The giraffes are, of course, happy to pose for anybody walking by, and zebras are also in the same area, great for African safari lovers. The Percussion Garden is especially unique. Children can drum to their heart’s content and make music with chimes and bells. Listening to the music drift through the park was a very pleasant experience.

It is easy to walk past the “Junior Inspector Healthy HQ” at Elmwood, but it is worth stopping by this small building towards the entrance of the Zoo. At the “Healthy Headquarters,” “junior inspectors” can pick up a logbook to go “on a mission to find hidden stations throughout the zoo” (Elmwood Park Zoo Shows & Attractions). Anyone who completes the logbook and returns it to the Nature Shop will receive a badge, and bragging rights. 

On a different day I took a trip to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (or PAFA as it is commonly known). PAFA is divided into two buildings: the Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building and the Furness and Hewitt Historic Landmark Building.  The buildings are joined together by Lenfest Plaza, a small outdoor exhibition space. Lenfest Plaza also serves as an outdoor eating space for Tableau, “PAFA’s full-service café run by Constellation Culinary. Tableau serves fresh baked goods, hot and cold beverages, soups, salads, sandwiches, and snacks, along with a rotating seasonal selection of local beers and wine” (Tableau at PAFA). The food did look very tempting, and it was great that the restaurant was directly connected to both Lenfest Plaza and the Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building. 

Both buildings are filled with gorgeous and unique artwork, but the architecture is very different. The Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building is modern with lots of bright, white spaces, windows and clean lines. The architect Peter M. Saylor helped turn what was originally built as an automobile showroom (and which had undergone a variety of uses before the PAFA renovation, including use as a World War I office) into the exhibition gallery it is today (Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building). When I visited, the Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building was filled with the 118th Annual Student Exhibition. If I had not been told by the front desk that most of the work on display was done by PAFA students, I would have thought I was looking at PAFA’s permanent collection. The artwork was very tastefully created and presented, with a variety of themes, styles and materials. There truly was something for everyone. Some of my favorites included the quilted horse at the exhibition entrance, the line drawings, watercolors and a graphic novel style painting. On the upper floors were lots of mixed media art, much of which used video, sound and photography. The third and fourth-year undergraduate students as well as the second-year graduate MFA students really made you stop and think about the world in new ways (118th Annual Student Exhibition). 



 The Furness and Hewitt Historic Landmark Building is quite the opposite of the Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building, but just as striking. The Victorian Gothic architecture features interesting uses of ornamentation and “foliated decoration combined with cast-iron architecture” (Furness and Hewitt Historic Landmark Building). The walls are decorated in rich colors and elegant designs. Yet, the artwork is not overpowered by the building’s ornate style. Some of my favorite pieces from the permanent collection include the portraits of George Washington and the sculptures. 

Whether traveling as a family or with a group of adults, all 19 museums in the Mercer County Library System museum pass program provide interesting perspectives and opportunities for fun and learning. I would highly recommend these museums for your next day trip adventure.

For more information about the museums the Mercer County Library System has to offer, please check out these recommended reads: 

- Julia Cuddahy, Lawrence Headquarters Branch

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