Before you pay full price for your next museum or zoo trip, check your library card. Seriously. I knew libraries had more than books, but I didn't realize just how many places you can get into for FREE with a library card until I started paying more attention to what our own library offered here in Fort Worth.
That's how I found out we could use our library card to get into places like the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Log Cabin Village and Fort Worth Nature Center. And once I realized that, of course I started wondering what else was out there. Then I went down the rabbit hole.
I started checking other libraries around DFW, then other cities, and found library cards getting families into zoos, museums, botanical gardens, nature centers and all kinds of places that can easily cost a family $50, $100 or more for one outing. As a homeschool mom who is always looking for places to take my kids, this is exactly the kind of information I want to know.
So I pulled together some of the best library pass programs I could confirm, including who can use them, what they cover and where you can go to get one.
First, How Does This Work?
Every library does it a little differently. Some have digital passes you reserve online with your library card. Others have physical passes that you check out just like you would a book.
Having a library card doesn't always mean you qualify for the passes. Some programs are residents-only, and some libraries offer nonresident cards without including attraction passes.
The really good passes can go FAST. Ask me how I know. I've seen the wait for some of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden passes stretch out for weeks. So finding out your library has a free pass is one thing. Actually getting your hands on it can be another.
Also check how many people the pass covers before you make plans. Some cover a whole family while others only cover one or two people. These programs can change too, so always double-check before you go. I last checked everything in this guide in October 2026.
DFW Libraries With Free Passes
Fort Worth Public Library
Where it gets you: Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Log Cabin Village, and Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge.
Who qualifies: Fort Worth Public Library cardholders.
Good to know: Passes check out for one week. The Botanic Garden pass covers two adults plus children 17 and younger living in the same household. Log Cabin Village and Nature Center passes each cover up to four people. You can also get digital passes through Libby.
Get the passes: Fort Worth Public Library Passes
Dallas Public Library
Where it gets you: Culture Pass Dallas gives cardholders access to participating museums and attractions around Dallas. Partners have included the Perot Museum, Meow Wolf, Texas Discovery Gardens and the Meadows Museum.
Who qualifies: Dallas Public Library cardholders.
Good to know: Log in with your library card and PIN to see what's currently available. You can have up to three active reservations at one time.
See current passes: Culture Pass Dallas
Arlington Public Library
This one is brand new for fall 2026.
Where it gets you: River Legacy Nature Center, International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame and UTA Planetarium.
Who qualifies: Arlington resident cardholders.
Good to know: You can book up to one week ahead, with one pass per day. River Legacy and the Bowling Museum passes cover up to four people, while the Planetarium pass covers one.
Get a pass: Arlington Public Library Culture Pass
Burleson Public Library
Where it gets you: Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and Log Cabin Village.
Who qualifies: Burleson Library cardholders ages 18 and older whose accounts have been in good standing for at least six months.
Good to know: The Fort Worth Museum pass covers up to five admissions, the Modern covers two and Log Cabin Village covers up to four.
See the passes: Burleson Museum Passes
Hurst Public Library
Where it gets you: Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.
Who qualifies: Hurst residents whose library card is at least three months old.
Good to know: This one was harder to find information about online, so I called Hurst Public Library myself to make sure it was still a thing. It is. The pass is available through their Library of Things.
So yes, I called a library about a museum pass for y'all. That's how deep I got into this rabbit hole.
Library information: Hurst Public Library
One More Fort Worth Freebie
You don't even need a library pass for this one. The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is always free for anyone under 18 and free for everyone on Fridays.
Plan your visit: Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Admission
Library Pass Programs Around the U.S.
DFW definitely isn't the only place doing this. Once I started looking around the country, I found some really good programs.
San Diego, California
San Diego Public Library has Discover & Go, which lets cardholders reserve free passes to places like the Museum of Us, the New Children's Museum, and the San Diego Museum of Art. The San Diego Zoo has been part of the program too, but those passes are limited and go fast, so check what's available before you get your hopes up.
Who qualifies: San Diego residents ages 16 and older with a permanent library card in good standing.
See current attractions: San Diego Public Library Discover & Go
San Diego County Library has its own separate Discover & Go program. County residents of all ages can participate, with up to two reservations at a time, up to three months ahead. The county library also has California State Parks passes.
See the county program: San Diego County Discover & Go
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles Public Library's Explore L.A. program offers free or discounted passes to places that have included the La Brea Tar Pits, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the LA Zoo, the Grammy Museum and The Broad.
Who qualifies: Los Angeles residents ages 18 and older with an LAPL card in good standing. E-cards aren't accepted for the program.
Good to know: LA Zoo passes are limited to certain zip codes within the city.
See what's available: Explore L.A. With Discover & Go
Seattle, Washington
Seattle Public Library's Museum Pass program gets cardholders into the Museum of Flight, Seattle Aquarium, Woodland Park Zoo, the Burke Museum, Seattle Children's Museum, and more.
Good to know: Each cardholder can reserve one pass per calendar month, and new passes are released every day after noon. The Museum of Flight pass covers two adults and two kids ages 5 to 17, and the aquarium and zoo passes cover up to four people. You'll need your pass and photo ID when you visit.
Reserve a pass: Seattle Public Library Museum Pass
Denver, Colorado
Denver Public Library's Museum and Cultural Passes get cardholders into the Butterfly Pavilion (1,600 free-flying butterflies, and you can hold a tarantula), Denver Botanic Gardens, Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, the Forney Museum of Transportation, the Molly Brown House Museum, History Colorado Center, and more.
Who qualifies: Cardholders with a permanent Denver Public Library card in good standing.
Good to know: Most passes can be reserved once per month (the Botanic Gardens pass is twice per year), and many cover a party of up to four. Bring your ID and library card in case they ask.
See current passes: Denver Public Library Museum and Cultural Passes
Denver's Library of Things also has a seasonal Mount Blue Sky Pass, which covers one carload and can be checked out for one week during the season. That's a drive up one of the highest paved roads in North America, for free.
See the Library of Things: Denver Public Library Library of Things
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha understood the assignment. Their Discovery Pass program includes places like Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum, the Durham Museum, Fontenelle Forest, Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha Children's Museum, and Kiewit Luminarium.
Who qualifies: Discovery Passes are reserved for eligible Douglas County residents. Paid nonresident memberships do not include Discovery Pass access. I actually called to ask, and the answer was no.
Each attraction has its own rules for how many people can visit and how often you can reserve, so check the individual pass before making plans.
See all the passes: Omaha Public Library Discovery Pass
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans Public Library's Culture Pass program gives local cardholders free access to Audubon Zoo, Audubon Aquarium, the National WWII Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans African American Museum, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans Pharmacy Museum and more.
Who qualifies: Library cardholders who live in Orleans Parish and are over 18.
Good to know: Passes must be reserved in advance, and the number of people admitted varies by attraction.
Reserve a pass: New Orleans Culture Pass
New York City
New York City's Culture Pass might be one of the biggest programs I found. It gets cardholders into places like the American Museum of Natural History, the Intrepid Museum (a real aircraft carrier with a space shuttle on it), the Met, MoMA, the Guggenheim, the New York Transit Museum, and dozens more.
Who qualifies: Cardholders ages 13 and older with a regular full-service card from Brooklyn Public Library, Queens Public Library or The New York Public Library. E-cards and NYPL virtual cards aren't eligible.
Good to know: You can have up to four active reservations at once and generally reserve one pass per participating institution each calendar year. How many people each pass admits depends on the attraction.
See all the options: NYC Culture Pass
Can You Buy a Nonresident Card and Use the Passes?
I KNOW some of y'all were already thinking it. Because I was too.
Sometimes the answer is yes, but you have to read the fine print. Omaha, for example, offers paid nonresident library memberships, but those memberships do not include Discovery Pass access.
Then I found La Vista, Nebraska, right next to Omaha. Adults with a paid nonresident La Vista Public Library membership can use its Henry Doorly Zoo passes. The pass covers up to two adults and six children. So if Omaha is on your road trip list, La Vista is worth a look.
Before paying for any nonresident library card, call and ask this exact question: "Can a nonresident library card be used to reserve your museum or zoo passes?"
See La Vista's pass rules: La Vista Around Town Passes
Tips for Actually Getting a Pass
Find out when new passes are released, especially if you're trying to grab one for a zoo or another popular attraction. Check how many people the pass covers before you make plans, and make sure you know whether you'll need your library card, photo ID, or a printed pass when you arrive.
And if you don't see anything obvious on your library's website, search the catalog for museum pass, culture pass, attraction pass, zoo pass, or Library of Things. Some of these programs are surprisingly hard to find.
Help Me Add to This List
If your library gets you into a museum, zoo, aquarium, garden, state park, or somewhere else for free, tell me in the comments. Leave the library name and where the pass gets you, and I'll check it out and add it to the guide.
I'm convinced there are a lot more of these hiding in library catalogs around the country.
And if you're in DFW and like finding things like this, sign up for my newsletter. Once a month, I send out things happening around DFW for families, homeschool resources, and other finds worth knowing about.
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