As summer draws closer, the thing on most people’s minds is what they are going to do this summer. There isn’t much to do when you live in the suburbs except go to Walmart or get food. The nearest mall is the one in Annapolis and even that is 30 minutes to an hour depending on where you live. Even then it’s expensive in cities. A simple t-shirt can be $20 or more. It’s getting harder to find jobs, even retail jobs are being stingy with who they hire. With no places to go near here while having little money, what can you do during the summer? In DC numerous museums require no entry fee, one of these museums is the Freer Gallery of Art. The Freer Gallery of Art conserves Asian and Western artworks that include architecture.
(David Coleman)
The Freer Gallery of Art has free admission and is open daily from 10 am-5:30 pm. While walking through the exhibits there are rooms designed in the times the artworks are from. Not only do they have artworks, but they also have a library with four thousand monographs, periodical issues, offprints, and sales catalogs. You must make an appointment between 10 am and 4 pm to be able to look through it. The historians in the library study Asian arts and materials like painting, calligraphy, etc. to better understand the culture behind the art.
Museums don’t have very many hands-on activities, unlike the Freer Gallery of Art. This museum has safe hands-on activities for kids five and older. They also have Art & Me experiences for teens and adults. Within the museum is a cafeteria where you can buy food or eat the food you brought. You are not allowed to eat or drink in the museum, though you can bring drinks and food in a closed container and consume them in the cafeteria. To protect the artworks no flash-photography is allowed along with tripods and selfie sticks.
If you are unable to make it in person there is a virtual experience of the museum’s website. On the website, there are directions on how to get to the museum by car, metro, bus, and bike. Once you are concluding your visit there is a shop with souvenirs and merchandise. Art museums and museums in general are a great thing to do over the summer. They are cheap, make for a great date, and once you’re done looking through the museums you can walk around DC for a while after. Many other museums don’t have an entrance fee in DC. This summer you can go look through museums and hang out in DC without having to spend a lot of money.
