Free Activities for Families555

What's free for kids and families in Philadelphia's Center City area?

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts offers free Building & Theater Tours that include history about the facility and its architectural and construction highlights at 1pm Tuesday through Sunday, and free Art & Architecture Tours that explore the art and architecture of the performing arts center, as well as other sites along Center City's Avenue of the Arts, every Saturday at 10:30am. The Kimmel Center also hosts Free at the Kimmel events, which include concerts on the Commonwealth Plaza Stage, prelude and postlude performances, and Artist Chats after select ticketed shows.

Admission is free at a number of Philadelphia's galleries and museums, including the Institute of Contemporary Art on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, The Galleries at Moore at Moore College of Art & Design, Fireman's Hall Museum, the National Museum of American Jewish History, and the Polish American Cultural Center Museum. Sundays are free at the National Liberty Museum.

Bank of America customers who present a valid Bank of America ATM, debit, or credit card, along with photo ID, can receive free general admission to many Center City museums on the first weekend of every month, including Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The first Sunday of each month also features pay-what-you-can admission at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A variety of free programming is regularly scheduled at the museum on Sundays, including Drawing Together sessions in the galleries, Early Bird Read and Look storytimes, Tours for Tots, and Family Gallery Tours. Even if you don't go inside the museum, there's plenty of fun to be had exploring the statues outside building, running up the steps Rocky-style, and splashing in the grand fountain at Eakins Oval.

The Free Library of Philadelphia offers free storytimes, crafts, film screenings, and other activities for children, teens, and adults, as well as free Sundays on Stage performances in the Montgomery Auditorium.

Turn a stroll into an adventure, and ask the kids to "grade" the city's parks and playgrounds. Some of our favorites are Clark Park at 45th Street and Baltimore Avenue, the 48th & Woodland Playground (complete with a "sprayground" that spritzes water during the summer ), Schuylkill River Park at 25th and Spruce Streets, and Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse - the winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the Best Playground for Little Kids in Philadelphia - at 33rd and Oxford Streets. Though it doesn't have playground equipment, the statues scattered throughout Rittenhouse Square provide great climbing practice, and a fountain offers cool water fun in the warmer months.

Challenge the kids to an apartment-wide treasure hunt for loose change (who knows what's lurking under the sofa cushions and under the beds?), then take the spoils to a nearby TD Bank (locations in Center City include Two Penn Center at 1500 JFK Boulevard, 121 South Broad Street, 1900 Market Street, 1726 Walnut Street, and 111 South 11th Street) and pass some time magically turning change into bills in the lobby machines. Be sure to count the change first, though - the machines aren't always accurate. And while you're at it, this is a perfect opportunity to introduce kids to the "rule of threes" by dividing the spoils into three piles - one to save, one to donate, and one to spend!

Know of more free stuff, events, and activities for kids and families around Center City Philadelphia? Add a comment below and we'll get right on it!