We Visited the Morris Arboretum For Free (maybe it could be free for you too)

Last Sunday while Mr. Katie was attending to family business, Toddler Nugget, Mr. Man, and I visited the Morris Arboretum, which is located on the outskirts of Philadelphia in a section that appears to be preserved land.

This winter we have had a warmer than average temperatures and Sunday was no exception. Though the morning started out in the 30’s, it was well into the mid-40’s by lunchtime which isn’t something that I would complain about during the second weekend of February.

We had a great time. Mr. Man told me that he had a really good day on the ride home. High Praise Indeed!

There was really a lot to see. An arboretum is essentially a tree museum. The property was large with many walking paths. It was a great place to get some exercise. The paths are both stroller and handicapped accessible and all of the main paths are paved.

Additionally, there are also plenty of green open spaces that visitors can wander into. We saw a mother and her nine-ish year old son running from the path into a large grass open space racing eachother back and forth at one point. There are very few signs that read “do not touch” or “do not walk”.

Mr. Man’s favorite part of the arboretum was the fernery, which is a warm, wet greenhouse for growing ferns. It was great to be in there on a February day, even with the relatively warm temperatures in the mid-40’s.

The fernery felt tropical. I pealed off most of my layers while we explored it.

As a side note: I spend most of my time at the fernery telling Mr. Man not to turn on the spigots and standing near the steps since Toddler Nugget really enjoyed going up and down the steps as well as opening the door to the outside.

The arboretum also contained a rose garden (which according to a sign is closed until spring), lots of trees, sculptures, a sculpture garden, a stream-side log cabin which you can not only explore but also build your own cabin with Lincoln Logs while playing inside, a garden railway, and a canopy walk fifty feet above the forest floor called: Out on a Limb.

According to it’s website the Morris Arboretum is owned by the University of Pennsylvania and is also the official Arboretum of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Before I show your pictures of our visit. I want to tell you how we were able to visit it for free.

Here is the secret:

We Borrowed a pass from the library where I work and got into the Arboretum for free

It is notable to point out that we didn’t just get to borrow the pass because I am an employee; anybody with a library card can borrow that particular pass. Additionally, the Indian Valley Public Library also has an entire list of other passes that they lend out. Many of the passes don’t circulate as much in the winter as in the summer or sping. I actually had my pick of most of the passes that the library lends out.

It is possible that even if you do not live in the Indian Valley service area, a library near you lends out passes to cultural attractions too. Many libraries all over the United States lend out museum and zoo passes. Quite possibly there are many cultural attractions that you could visit for free just with your library card.

Kapish?

Now that I have finished my library evangelization.

Here are some pictures of our trip:

The first attraction we saw when we arrived at the arboretum was the

Out on a Limb Skywalk:

Later in the day, we visited the Garden Railway.

Log Cabin Fun

Loop de Loop a Stickwork Sculpture: Interactive art

There were a number of other interesting areas including a swan pond

Here is some of the nature that we saw:

I thought this was witch hazel until today when I learned witch hazel is a bush.

In conclusion, we will probably borrow other passes from the library to keep this winter adventurous.

What have you been up to this winter? Have you been to your local library lately?

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