Does Chicago Art Institute Membership Allow Multiple Visits in the Year?

With my birthday coming up, Sarah gave me a few ideas of things to do. Helpful that this year my birthday is on a Sabbatum. (Side-note: It seems my altogether often falls on a weekend. Over the grade of 100 years are some birthdays more than prone to have weekend dates than other birthdays?)

One of my altogether options is going to the Art Institute of Chicago with the kids. When I worked in the Prudential Plaza, I used to go to the Art Constitute multiple times a week during luncheon! Oh, I loved that. (the paradigm in this web log mail is a collection of some of my tickets. They used to print artworks on the backs of their tickets).

The complimentary museum pass from my bank really opened the Art Constitute up to me. My museum visits really kicked into high gear when our piece of work moved location from the Tribune Tower to Prudential Plaza. The Prudential was a small walk through Millennium park to become to the museum. At present my bank doesn't offer that laissez passer. They killed it this summertime. Hrmpf. And coronavirus kicked usa out of downtown. Now I work from home in the suburbs.

In the by I had a reciprocal Art Museum laissez passer from the Walker Fine art Center. I'1000 considering that too. However, it's slightly more than an Art Institute laissez passer. Ok. Permit'due south get into the math of ownership regular tickets at the ticket window versus getting an annual membership.

Comparing an annual membership vs buying ane-off visit tickets

Based on my zilch code, which is a suburb of Chicago, a one-day visit costs $22 per adult. Thus, with Sarah and I, ane visit is $44 (kids under 13 years sometime are free).

Membership for one year (which includes two adults) is $105.

If I didn't become the membership, if I spent $44 on one visit, then I would take to spend another $61 to spend. Allow's say we get another time. That's $88 spent. So that's $17 left. Ok, this is too much math. let'southward simplify this.

In one year:

• 2 visits by family ($88)
• I visit by me ($22)
  Cost: $110

Boom. In that location information technology is. In one year… to equate to the membership: you'd have to visit twice with the family, and in one case by yourself.

Would nosotros really visit TWICE in a year? (we have a two-yr-old and a 5-year-sometime). Once. Certain. But we don't even go EVERY year. My five-yr-old has been to the Art Institute two times in her life.

Let's put in i visit by family

• I visit by family ($44)
• Three visits by me ($22)
  Price: $110

Would I actually visit on my own? Would I actually go to the Art Constitute on my own one time a yr? I tin can't believe that I'm actually asking that question. I used to get multiple times a calendar week!

Going on my own would entail a $10 Metra pass. (or $14 for parking). When I used to piece of work downtown, I loved the idea of working from their membership lounge. But that's because I was already downtown. Now I would take to have the fourth dimension to go downwards there. Funny how information technology seems so much more challenging to go downtown when I'm not doing that regularly anymore. Plus, we have a kid in kindergarten, and I love walking her to school. Past the time I walk her to school, walk to the train, accept the railroad train downtown, walk to the Art Institute. It would be something similar 10am.

Would I work from the Fine art Institute membership lounge? Well, if spend the time going downtown, I would want to exist walking effectually the museum—non doing my regular day job from the membership lounge. If I were to go to the Fine art Institute these days, I'll but take the day off to walk around the museum, and enjoy information technology.

Actually, maybe that'southward something I really need in my life correct now. I need to have the dedicated days to go to the museum. Savor the artwork. Even make my artwork in the museum (I have at least 13 such projects where I make art in the museum. I accept even more than museum projects not in that web log post).

Library museum laissez passer

Chicagoland libraries have costless passes to a whole bunch of museums. Withal, my library doesn't accept the Art Institute of Chicago on their list.

A reciprocal museum pass might salve more money

Another thought to consider. The Walker Fine art Eye has a reciprocal membership to 1,200 museums across America. That membership is $125/year. Then information technology's an extra $20 on top of the Art Establish membership. I had Walker reciprocal pass or a few years. It was bang-up to get into BOTH of Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Found. Plus, if I was traveling, I could get into other museums likewise.

The full list of Illinois museums on the Walker reciprocal laissez passer

• American Writers Museum
• Art Institute of Chicago
• Cedarhurst Center for the Arts, Mt. Vernon
• Chicago History Museum
• Cuneo Mansion and Gardens, Vernon Hills
• DuSable Museum of African American History
• Elmhurst Art Museum
• Evanston Art Center
• Freeport Art Museum
• Intuit: Center for Intuitive and Outsider Fine art, Chicago
• Jacoby Arts Eye
• Krannert Art Museum & Kinkead Pavilion/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign
• Leather Archives and Museum
• Loyola University Museum of Fine art, LUMA, Chicago
• Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston
• McLean County Arts Heart, Bloomington
• Midwest Museum of Natural History, Sycamore
• Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, Evanston
• Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
• Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College
• Oriental Institute, Chicago
• Peoria Riverfront Museum University, Evanston
• Pleasant Home
• Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago
• Richard H. Driehaus Museum, Chicago
• Smart Museum of Fine art, University of Chicago
• Springfield Art Association of Edwards Place
• Spurlock Museum, Urbana

That list makes it very tempting. However, these days I'k questioning if I'll even go to my primary museum enough. So I would probably stick to the Art Constitute laissez passer—if I get information technology. Peradventure. Hmmm.

Elmhurst Art Museum has a $100 reciprocal laissez passer for +900 museums nationwide. (Elmhurst is a suburb that's a 26-minute drive from me). At present we are talking a bit more than. This is cheaper than the Art Institute pass.

The only thing with a reciprocal is that yous have to wait in the regular ticketing line to show your pass to get a physical ticket. If I had an Art Establish membership, I wouldn't take to wait in line. Instead, I could but bear witness my membership card at the security gate. Actually, I don't heed and then much waiting in line. Especially in the days when the Art Institute used to print artwork on the backs of the concrete tickets.

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Source: https://www.spudart.org/blog/comparing-the-cost-of-an-art-institute-of-chicago-membership/

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