Experience Kits: Be a Tourist in Your Own City!

Museum passes with FREE ADMISSION for two adults and up to six children under 18
In partnership with the History Center Affiliates Program, we are offering FREE ADMISSION for two adults and up to six children under 18 to a number of museums and historical sites around Pittsburgh! The kits circulate for one week at a time and can be reserved in advance.

Our 2023 Experience Kit season includes admission to:

• Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, PA)
  • Devoted to the history and heritage of Western Pennsylvania, the History Center is Pennsylvania’s largest history museum and a proud affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.
  • Kit also includes admission to:
    • Fort Pitt Museum (Pittsburgh, PA)
      • The Fort Pitt Museum tells the story of Western Pennsylvania’s vital role during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. It was also the birthplace of the city of Pittsburgh. It opened in 1969 in a reconstructed bastion at the forks of the Ohio River, which was an important and strategic location in American history.
    • Meadowcroft Rock shelter and Historic Village ( Avella, PA )
      • Meadowcroft Historic Village was created by Albert and Delvin Miller who wanted to preserve the rural history of Western Pennsylvania, while developing a place where youth groups could camp, learn about history, and investigate the natural environment.
• Old Economy Village (Ambridge, PA )
  • Old Economy Village strives to preserve and present the life, thought and material culture of the Harmony Society, a 19th century religious community. The Society, led by George Rapp, endeavored to create a utopia, inhabited by German Lutheran separatists.
•  Historic Fort Steuben (Steubenville, OH )
  • Historic Fort Steuben was built in 1787 and was named after Friedrich Wilhelm Steuben, a Prussian army officer who was George Washington’s drillmaster in the Revolutionary War.
• Railroaders Memorial Museum and Horseshoe Curve (Altoona, PA)
  • The Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum is dedicated to sharing information and celebrating the significant contributions of railroaders and their families to American life and industry. It also operates the visitor center at Horseshoe Curve National Historic Site.
• Fort Ligonier (Ligonier, PA)
  • Fort Ligonier is a reconstructed British fort from the French and Indian War, located in Ligonier, PA. The fort was built in 1758 as winter quarters for soldiers, and it was used to house supplies of the British army and to defend the supply line crucial to the community.
• Bradford House & Whiskey Rebellion Education Center (Washington, PA)
  • The Bradford family lived in the house from 1788 to 1794. However, their residence was cut short because of David’s leadership role in the Whiskey Rebellion, which was an uprising of farmers and distillers in western Pennsylvania who opposed a whiskey tax enacted by the federal government.

      *Pass can be used in lieu of suggested donation (although donations always welcome!)

Virtual experience kits

Plus: Before you go, explore the museum’s “virtual experience kit!” Discover what you might see during your visit, learn more about the history of the site, and find other fun things to do in the area while you’re there. Images and text in this virtual kit are “clickable,” and will direct you to external sites.

Click here to access virtual experience kits