This vacation, pry your kids away from the TV and video games and visit over 400 parks and cultural destinations instead – all with the swipe of a library card.
MI Big Green Gym and Michigan Activity Pass have paired up to offer a summer of healthy adventures and learning. Both nonprofits have existed for three years, but in 2015 they’re collaborating to offer free or reduced-rate access to loads of family-fun adventures.
“We want (families) to exercise their minds at cultural institution – and bodies at parks with MI Big Green Gym,” says Suzanne Miller Allen with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, which runs MBGG with Michigan Recreation & Park Association and state DNR. “Michigan is a ‘big green gym’ for people to get out and explore. We encourage healthy living, eating and exercise.”
The MBGG program includes our 102 state parks, plus hundreds of local rec agencies, offering activities like kayaking, archery and fishing (plus snowshoeing and more in winter). MAP, run by the Michigan Library Network through May 2016, features a growing list of museums, galleries, theaters and more. It’s “a great way to expose people to something they may not have done before,” Miller Allen says.
Adventure Spots
A sampling of participating venues:
Belle Isle Park, Detroit
Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills
Detroit Institute of Arts
Holly Recreational Area
JIFFY Mix Plant tour, Chelsea
Maybury State Park, Northville
Michigan Firehouse Museum, Ypsilanti
Michigan Science Center, Detroit
Pontiac Creative Arts Center
Proud Lake Recreation Area, Commerce
Rochester Hills Museum
SEA LIFE Aquarium Michigan, Auburn Hills
Stagecrafters, Royal Oak
Troy Historic Village
Wild Swan Theater, Ann Arbor
Yankee Air Museum, Belleville
Get a MI Big Green Gym/Michigan Activity Pass
1. Register: Sign up at your local library or online at michiganactivitypass.info
2. Find: On the site, enter your ZIP code, address or destination, along with maximum number of miles from there and your library name.
3. Pick: A list of locations pops up. Select “get pass.”
4. Go!: After you print your pass, you have one week to use it.
Did you know?
This July marks the nation’s 30th annual Parks and Recreation Month! It’s a prime time to get out and explore. Learn more at mrpaonline.org.
