Our family makes bi-weekly visits to our local county libraries to check out 20-30 books at a time. Since pandemic restrictions eased and they re-opened about 18 months ago, we have followed this routine pretty stringently. But we don’t visit the library simply to borrow copious amounts of books. We also visit to print documents, attend story time, and select STEM kits to bring home.

Feeling comfortable surrounded by books at the Spokane Valley Library.

However, tonight I am here to offer an additional resource the library has available. In fact, what I am about to tell you goes beyond just a “resource” – it is a hack.

Believe it or not, there is a good chance that your local library has passes to educational and cultural centers in its circulation. And no, these passes aren’t for the library employees…they are for YOU (and, well, me too 😊).

The Spokane Valley Library is kind of like a second home for us. It offers so much more than just books.

I know firsthand. This past Sunday, Sloan and I went to Mobius Discovery Center (aka the Spokane children’s museum) on an outing covered completely by the Spokane County Library System. We checked out the Mobius family pass that provided free admission for a family of four, equating to a $40 value. I didn’t even need to step foot in the library to secure the pass. I simply went to the library’s website, selected the item, submitted my library card number, and was sent a bar code.

The Mobius Discovery Center is so freaking cool. It is full of countless many educational activities that will keep your children occupied for at the very least a couple of hours.

Mobius Discover Center is a children’s museum in downtown Spokane.

A few of Sloan’s favorite activities included using the excavator…

Being able to control a mini (but functional) excavator was a thrill for Sloan.

Blowing enormous bubbles…

Mobius has a bubble contraption that allows you to produce a large sheet of bubble solution.

Dressing up as an astronaut…

Sloan loved jumping into the space suit.

And doing all the various arts and crafts stations, including the construction of a “silly frog” hat…

Sloan gravitated toward the arts and crafts stations at Mobius Discovery Center.

We were given an afternoon of entertainment in an air-conditioned state-of-the-art children’s museum simply because we had a library card.

Speaking of library cards, this is my ancient library card issued to me as a little kid. If you look on the back, you will see my name. I only wrote the first letter of my name before my mom completed the rest of it because of my awful toddler penmanship.

I strongly recommend that you reach out to your local library to see what community entertainment options it might have in its possession. During these hot days, it might just be the answer to making some special (and affordable) summer memories. Don’t Blink.