Discovery Museum Continues Summer Friday Nights Free Through August

ACTON - The Discovery Museum has announced their popular Summer Friday Nights Free! Program continues through August 31, 2018. Free admission to all is offered every Friday night of the summer from 4:30pm to 8:00pm.

“Our Friday night attendance shows this is a very popular program. We’re thrilled to be able to provide free admission to share what we’ve created here with everyone,” said Neil Gordon, Discovery Museum CEO.

The expanded and completely renovated museum reopened in March 2018 with twice the exhibit space of the original museum and includes new galleries for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) experiences including water; air; tinkering, design, and engineering; early brain development; math; light and color; and sound. It also includes reimagined visitor favorites from the original buildings including a Diner, Train Room, and Ship Room, along with other beloved exhibit components such as a giant amethyst and radar magnet.

The new building is ADA-compliant and all exhibits are accessible, designed according to Universal Design principles to be both aesthetically pleasing and useable by the widest possible range of people, without regards to age or ability. In combination with the museum’s Discovery Woods outdoor nature playscape and treehouse, the entire campus is now accessible.

Though not required for admission, visitors are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food donation. Donations collected during Summer Friday Nights Free! will be donated to the Acton Food Pantry and Open Table of Concord and Maynard.

Summer Friday Nights Free! is part of the museum’s Open Door Connections program to provide opportunities for those who face a variety of barriers---financial, developmental, or cultural---to experience the Museum. Summer Friday Nights Free! are sponsored by MathWorks and Middlesex Savings Bank.  Additional funding is provided by grants from the local Massachusetts Cultural Councils of Acton-Boxborough, Berlin, Billerica, Littleton, Needham, and Sterling.

**************************************

About Discovery Museum

Discovery Museum is a hands-on museum that blends science, nature, and play, inspiring families to explore and learn together. The museum and its Discovery Woods accessible outdoor nature playscape and 550 sf treehouse blend the best of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) learning on a beautiful 4.5-acre campus abutting 180 acres of conservation land in Acton, MA, about 20 miles west of Boston. Originally founded in 1982 and expanded to two museums in 1987, the museum reopened in a single accessible building after a complete renovation and expansion in early 2018. Hands-on, open-ended exhibits developed by professional educators inspire curiosity and exploration, providing a fun and engaging experience for children and adults to discover their world together. Serving families and schools from towns throughout the region, the museum is devoted to informal education that enhances classroom learning. Discovery Museum is committed to accessibility, and is a proud recipient of the 2017 Massachusetts Commonwealth Award, the only winner in the Access category. Discovery Museum is the winner of Boston magazine’s 2018 Best of Boston® Best Family-Friendly Museum, West. For more information please visit www.discoveryacton.org. Discovery Museum is a community-supported non-profit organization.

Discovery Museum programming is supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

###