Museums:
University Museum of Fine Arts - The museum is free the first Wednesday of every month, and free art activities for families are held the third Saturday of every month from 2 to 4 p.m. It's always free for students and employees of the University of Utah.
Salt Lake Art Center: This museum is ALWAYS free and has many fun activities for families. The museum is closed right now while changing exhibits but will reopen June 8th. Starting June 18th in the Main Gallery: Contemporary Masters - A Fully playable miniature golf course Designed by Utah and national artists.
Also from 2 to 4 PM on the second Saturday of each month they host a Family Art Saturday, where children and their families can drop-in and explore art together through a variety of free art-making activities.
Fort Douglas Military Museum - Always Free Admission. The mission of the Fort Douglas Museum is to collect, preserve, and interpret the history of Fort Douglas and its impact on the history of Utah and the adjacent Western states.LDS Church History Museum: Always free! There are several interesting exhibits currently including "I Am a Child of God", an interactive exhibit for families. This exhibit is based on the words of the first verse of the song "I Am a Child of God", and is designed to help visitors learn about the Plan of Salvation at a very basic level. Visitors will understand that each earth life has a purpose and that they should strive to learn about and fulfill that purpose. The exhibit is full of interactive elements illuminating these ideas.
Utah Museum of Natural History: The First Monday of every month the museum has extended hours and is free .
The Pioneer Memorial Museum: Always Free. "As you enter the Pioneer Memorial Museum, you literally walk back into history. Here are the belongings of a hardy pioneer people who migrated 2,000 miles west across the plains from Nauvoo, Illinois, and from all parts of the world to seek religious freedom and to build a great city of Zion in the Salt Lake Basin."
Clark Planetarium: The star shows and IMAX theater are available at a fee however, the planetarium does have several free exhibits that are interesting and worth a look, especially if you're in the area.
Tours:
Utah State Capitol - Tours are available every hour of the beautifully restored Capitol building. There is also an impressive display called "Utah in the Union" now on display at the Capitol. An original copy of Utah's constitution is even on display.
Church History Library
Family History Library - Tours are available at both Library's. After the tour experienced guides and genealogists are available to help you get started on your own family history or research what has already been accomplished.
LDS Conference Center: Free guided tours are available from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Temple Square
Kennecott Utah Copper Tours - Tour the largest man-made excavation on earth!
Mrs. Cavanaughs Candy - 45 minute tours are available during the week from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Candy Factory Tours
The Art Institute at Thanksgiving Point - Cool working Art Institute which will allow you to tour. The Glass blowing (oven?) will be closed from June 17th until July 4 so you may want to arrange your tour either before or after those dates. Tours can last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour depending on your interests.
Humanitarian Center - You can arrange a tour of the church's Humanitarian Center by calling 801-240-5954.
Arts & Crafts:
Reduce, reuse, recycle and make some art!
Pick up used paints from the Reuse Shed at a Household Hazardous Waste station.
Salt Lake Arts Center: 2 to 4 PM on the second Saturday of each month SLAC hosts a Family Art Saturday, where children and their families can drop-in and explore art together through a variety of free art-making activities.
University Museum of Fine Arts - Free art activities for families are held the third Saturday of every month from 2 to 4 p.m.
Bowling:
Two games of bowling per child each day all summer long. This does not include shoe rental though. When you call the bowling alley, inquire about the family pass promotion, last year they had a pass good for up to 4 adults to also have 2 free games per day for only $23-29 total!
Locations/Phone:
AMF Ritz Classic Lanes 2265 South State St Salt Lake City (801) 486-2176 (801) 486-2176
Fat Cats Bowling 3739 S 900 E, Salt Lake Cty, UT 84106*(801) 262-9890 (801) 262-9890 (BTW, the Ogden and Provo Fat Cat’s are also participating!)
Plus, there’s also Orchard Lanes in North Salt Lake, and Sparetime Fun Center in Roy.
To find out more about how this program works (make note that you have to sign up online before going) go HERE. If you signed up for this last year, you should have gotten your June pass via email already, if not, you may need to sign up again.
p.s. The site does not show Fat Cats as participating, but we did call to confirm that they are!
Water:
Run through the water fountains or creeks on a hot day:
Liberty Park
Gateway Mall
Abravenel Hall
Sugarhouse Park
Millcreek Canyon (small fee)
Concerts & Movies:
Concerts in the Park at Brigham Young Historic Park
Temple Square Events: Many of the concerts and plays are free of charge however some are a nominal price. Most concerts, whether free or paid, require tickets, please check the website for details.
Lunch Bunch Concerts at the Gallivan Center Free lunch time concert (Noon to 1 p.m.) during the work week with some of the best local artists in SLC. The Center is undergoing some construction so please note the instructions for entry noted on the website.
Joseph Smith The Prophet of the Restoration: A film about the life and legacy of Joseph Smith, founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is being shown in the Legacy Theater of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. No tickets required, seating is on a first come first served basis.
Cool Air Concert Series at Snowbird: Starts June 19th. All shows are free!
2010 Twilight Concert Series at Pioneer Park: Starts July 8th. Check website for details.
Snowbird Mountain Music Festival: July 9, 10 & 11, 2010 The whole festival is free and open to everyone. It will be held in the Snowbird Event Tent.
Summer Concert Series at The Canyons: Runs July 17th to August 28th. All shows are free of charge.
Friday Night Flicks: Watch free movies under the stars shown on a large blow-up screen. Key Bank is sponsoring the movies and popcorn (as long as it last) this summer. Seven Fridays of movies, each week at a different Salt Lake park. See website for details.
Movies Under the Stars at the Capitol - Starting July 1st and every Thursday until August 26th you can enjoy a movie with your family at dusk on the lawn of the State Capitol.
Parks:
Utah State Parks Passes: A discount day pass for the Utah State Parks is now available for check out. The pass may be requested at the Reference Desk at each Salt Lake County Library, and allows the user to free day-use admittance to most Utah state parks and discounted camping fees. Ask at your neighborhood library for details, and please read all instructions that come with the pass.
Wheeler Farm: A wonderful place to stop for a picnic or visit with the animals. Admission to the park is Always Free with a few optional paid activities such as riding the hay wagon, doing farm chores, historic house tours and buying corn to feed the ducks and geese (PLEASE DO NOT FEED BREAD TO THE DUCKS AND GEESE as it isn't good for them).
Park Hopping - Ever tried Park Hopping? Use the following link to plot out a route to parks in the SL valley, then pack a lunch, some snacks, sunscreen, and hats and buckle the kids into the car. Start at your first park and play for 15 or 20 minutes, then hop back in the car and go to the next park, repeat until everyone is good and tired! Your kids will want to repeat this activity again and again. Parks managed by Salt Lake City
Hikes:
Check out these books
Best Hikes with Children in Utah by Maureen Keilty
They are available at the city or county libraries or you can purchase them from your local bookstore (such as Frost Books at 20th East and 2700 South, 801-582-8428 or The Kings English, 1511 South 1500 East, (801) 484-9100 Or REI) They are excellent resources! Pick up an icee or Surf Shack on the way home - of course that takes away from the "freeness" of the activity.)
"Hike" around town - Walk to Highland Park Elementary, Stratford park on Preston Avenue just south of Stratford Ave, or Sugarhouse Park going up 1700 East for a fun play day.
5 Great Day Hikes Near Salt Lake City: Some of the hikes listed might be a little more advanced but are well worth the hike if you can make it!
Salt Lake Area Hiking Trails - A list of great trails to visit in the Salt Lake Area. There is a description of the trails as well as a difficulty rating.
Celebrations:
Independence Day Celebrations (information will be posted as I find it)
The Days of 47 - Free parade and many other activities. Check the website!
Read A Book or Two:
Salt Lake City Library and Salt Lake County Library have great summer reading programs for kids, teens AND Adults! Read or listen to books, magazines or other media and earn fun prizes. There are also many free activites associated with each reading program.
Don't know what to read? The library has many reading lists and the librarians are always happy to help you find something to read or check out Goodreads.com or Shelfari.com. Both are sites which contain ratings and reviews of almost every book published. Find your friends on these sites and see what they are reading.
Worried about what your children might be reading? The best solution is to read everything together but we know that this isn't always possible (one of my children reads twice as fast as I do!). One website I have found is called Rated Reads. The website states: "My basic goal, or "mission," as you could call it, is to review good books that you'll enjoy reading, ones that are fairly newly published. I will rate them for content to give you an idea of what kinds of offensive material might be in them." Not every book is there but it is information that can help you talk with your child about what they are reading.
Buy used books on an ongoing basis from the Salt Lake County Library for $1 or less!
Give Service:
Utah Food Bank - 801-978-2452 - The Utah Food Bank provides many opportunities to serve. Youth (12 to 18) and adults can put together food boxes. Children 6 and older are welcome to help their family put together food boxes on Monday nights. Children, Youth and Adults are welcome to pick up empty food boxes and decorate the cardboard boxes to make brighten the day of those who receive the food. If you would like to make a 6 month committment you can sign up to deliever food boxes to Seniors. Visit their website and then call the Food Bank if you are interested in helping.
Humanitarian Center - Call the Humanitarian Center at 801-240-6060 to find out their current, most urgent needs. The Humanitarian Website has many guidlines online for projects you can do at home to donate to the Humanitarian Center but please call first to make sure they are in need of the items you would like to donate.
Pray as a family and act upon the promptings you feel to visit someone.
Farmer's Markets & Pick Your Own:
It's free to walk around the farmers markets but once you see these beautiful fruits and vegetables you will want some money to buy them! The Pick Your Own Farms are very inexpensive compared to buying in the store. Besides it's just good to support our local farmers.
Utah's Farmers Market A listing of all the farmers markets across the state of Utah with links to the markets websites where available.
Pick Your Own - Website listing farms in Utah where you can travel to pick your own fruits and vegetables. These make for memorable experiences with the family (with some loving it and some complaining, thus making it memorable! ha ha)
Free with Membership:
These events are not even close to free but can be very economical and a lot of fun when you purchase a membership and attend often. By purchasing a membership you can have unlimited access to the park as well as some members only activities. Check the websites for details.
This is the Place Heritage Park
Hogle Zoo
Discovery Gateway Children's Museum
Thanksgiving Point
