Experience Passes

Your Elkhart Public Library card can be your ticket to a number of local destinations – call them Experience Passes. And now, you can make almost all your plans online.

With MuseumKey (opens in a new tab), you can select your destination and day. Using your EPL card number and PIN, you’ll get a reservation you can show on your phone at the venue entrance or print to take with you.

Experience Passes are available for the following locations:
– Midwest Museum of American Art (opens in a new tab)
– Wellfield Botanic Gardens (opens in a new tab)
– Ruthmere (opens in a new tab) campus, including Havilah Beardsley House
– Potawatomi Zoo (opens in a new tab)
– Hall of Heroes Superhero Museum (opens in a new tab)
– History Museum and Studebaker National Museum (opens in a new tab) in South Bend

Elkhart Public Library continues to partner with the Elkhart County Parks, too, on admission passes for Ox Bow Park (opens in a new tab). Each of the five EPL locations has a physical pass you can checkout and take with you for up to three days for a free vehicle admission at Ox Bow.

The library relies on strong community partners, like the Friends of Elkhart Public Library, to make these passes available to library users.

Giving opportunities for locals to visit museums and educational places located in our community is part of the library’s mission to inform, inspire and empower our diverse communities.

The library also is a connector for other road-trip possibilities. The Indianapolis Children’s Museum, for example, offers Access Pass (opens in a new tab), a reduced admission cost program for low-income Hoosier families for 12 attractions in Indianapolis, Bloomington and Terre Haute. Hoosier families enrolled in SNAP, TANF and/or Hoosier Healthwise Insurance may sign up for the program.

Midwest Museum of American Art

429 S. Main St., Elkhart
Admission for up to 4 people
This Main Street gem gives visitors a chance to see, understand and enjoy some of the best examples of American art from the 1800s through today.

Potawatomi Zoo

500 S. Greenlawn Ave., South Bend
Admission for 2 adults and up to 6 children
A trip to Potawatomi Zoo inspires excellence in education, conservation, and improved animal quality of life. Guests are provided with unique and meaningful animal experiences that are memorable, up close, and personal. Some activities inside the grounds may require separate purchase.

Wellfield Botanic Gardens

1011 N. Main St., Elkhart
Admission for 2 adults and up to 4 children
Wellfield attracts, inspires and educates in a setting dedicated to the celebration of nature. The gardens provide an exceptional backdrop for photography. Guests are welcome to take photographs for personal use, but images and videos are not to be used for commercial purposes.

Ruthmere | Havilah Beardsley House

302 E. Beardsley Ave., Elkhart
Admission for up to 4 people
Ruthmere was the home of Albert and Elizabeth Beardsley. Designed by famed architect E. Hill Turnock, the Beaux Arts mansion and grounds are impeccably preserved. Havilah Beardsley House was built in 1848 for Elkhart’s founding family.

Ox Bow Park

23033 C.R. 45, Goshen
Admission for one vehicle
Make the most out of your visit by taking part in nature programs (opens in a new tab) and woodland hikes (opens in a new tab). Archery (opens in a new tab) and disc golf (opens in a new tab) also are available on the grounds. (Reservations cannot be made online; physical pass can be checked out for up to three days at any of the five EPL locations.)

South Bend museum campus

808 W. Washington St., South Bend
Admission for up to six people
With over 600,000 artifacts in the collection, this pass takes you on a journey through the rich history of the people, places and things that have impacted the South Bend area. Admission includes the History Museum, Studebaker National Museum, Navarre Cabin, Kidsfirst Museum, and the various galleries and exhibits.

Hall of Heroes Museum

1915 Cassopolis St., Elkhart
Admission for up to four people
One of the largest collections of superhero memorabilia, art and comics in the United States is right here in our hometown. Hall of Heroes has more than 70,000 comics, more than 10,000 toys and games, and 100 pieces or more of animation, comic art and Hollywood artifacts.