Providence Athenaeum family membership (new membership only**), 4 tix to Museum of Natural History & Planetarium in Roger Williams Park, and two carousel rides in Roger Williams Park. 

The Providence Athenaeum, a unique independent, member-supported library and cultural center, welcomes and enriches the educational and cultural pursuits of its members and the community and encourages a diverse public to engage in spirited conversation. It offers a wide range of experiences by providing and conserving extraordinary collections, offering innovative and compelling programs, promoting and collaborating with the community's vibrant cultural sector, and highlighting and preserving its historic building.

The stately stone of the granite exterior opens to the warmth of wood as you enter the Athenaeum. Starting at your feet and towering overhead, books envelop you in winding canyons, deep ravines, and hidden culs-de-sac of bound paper, centuries of stories, voices, and ideas waiting to be rediscovered...

More than a place for books, the Athenaeum itself has the transcendental power of the best literature. The library holds the intrigue of a great mystery, the history of a non-fictional epic, and the delicious escape of a fiction title. We welcome visitors and members to come in and enjoy the Athenaeum's ongoing story for themselves!

• The building is open to the public and all are welcome to peruse our collections while inside. Many programs are also open to the public.


• Those who wish to check out materials are encouraged to become members. Borrowing privileges are only one of the many benefits of membership.


• The culture the library has on display is more than matched by the culture of community it fosters within its walls. Whether salons, readings or pub-style quizzes, our extensive programming brings members of the community together!

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS:

1. Borrowing privileges at the Athenaeum:Becoming a member fully opens the library's collections to you, allowing any circulating items to be checked out.

Tens of thousands of books, magazines, DVDs, and CDs will all be available for you to bring home. And we order dozens of new materials to add to our collection each week!

2. Gain access to items beyond our collection: Don't see what you're looking for among our more than 150,000 items? Not a problem!

We can get a hold of almost any book ever published. Just use our book request form, give us a call, or stop by in person and we'll track down that title you've been searching for.

3. Admittance to all Athenaeum events: Members and their guests gain access to our weekly salons and advance notice and discounted admission (when applicable) to our many programs and events including talks and readings with authors and artists, concerts, tastings, theatricals, and conversations throughout the year.

4. Children's Library Services: The weekly children's story-times and sing-a-longs, as well as special programming like author appearances and movie showings, are all open to members.

5. Use of the RISD Library: Household and Individual Members are able to check items out from the Rhode Island School of Design's visually-stunning Fleet Library.

Click here to learn more about the RISD Library and the amazing materials it has to offer Athenaeum members.

6. Subscription to the Universal Penman newsletter: Members also receive mailed copies of our colorful and detail-packed monthly newsletter. Filled with news and upcoming event information, the Universal Penman is your gateway to all things Athenaeum.

7. The Knowledge that your support is making a big difference: From its inception, the Athenaeum has owed its existence to membership dues.

 www.providenceathenaeum.org

MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY & PLANETARIUM

When did the Museum open?
The Museum of Natural History, Roger Williams Park, Providence, opened in 1896. It was founded by the City of Providence who owns and operates it. Its founding was precipitated by a donation of privately amassed mammal and bird specimens by former Providence resident, John Steere. The offer coincided with the museum-building era that characterized many American cities in the late 19th century. The Museum was embraced by its local community as a source of civic pride and as a visionary monument to science on the brink of a new century.

What are the Museum's Collections?
The Museum houses more than a quarter million (250,000) objects. As is true of most museums, less than 2% of its holdings are on exhibit for the public at any one time. The other 98% is stored behind the scenes in climate controlled vaults under the care of the curators.

The Museum's collections are about 85% natural history and 15% cultural materials. Though many are of Rhode Island origin, we house specimens and objects from all over the world.

Among the natural history collections are 175,000 preserved plants and animals such as insects, mollusk shells, birds, and mammals. There are also 15,000 earth science specimens consisting of rocks, minerals, and fossils. The Museum has an especially rich collection of plant fossils from Coal Age Rhode Island...these are older than dinosaurs being 350 million years old!.

The cultural collections consist of about 20,000 archaeological artifacts, mostly from North America. They also contain 4,000 ethnographic objects such as baskets, textiles, tools, and carvings with special emphasis on Oceania and Native North America.

The Museum also houses a wealth of informational resources including a reference library for staff use and an extensive document and photographic archive. The latter was inventoried in 1999 and chronicles in various photographic formats the history of Roger Williams Park (1872) and of the Museum (1896).

Where did the museum's collections come from?
The collections have come from many different sources. Since Rhode Island has no state museum, many wonderful things have been gathered by state residents and people from nearby areas have found their way here. That is why the museum's collections are such an important legacy. They tell us what kinds of things people in our region were interested in collecting. Since the Museum opened in 1896 - that's quite a lot of collecting history.

One of the oldest zoos in the country, Roger Williams Park Zoo is located in Providence, RI amid a beautiful, 40-acre park setting.

The Carousel is the most popular attraction at the park and includes chariots, a camel, a lion, a giraffe, a rabbit, seahorses, and magnifcently sculpted and painted traditional horses. The Carousel is available for birthdays, anniversary celebrations, and is a great place to propose! The Carousel has a wonderful wall of pictorial memories, a bounce house, and The Roger Williams Express -- a brand new trackless train.

**May be purchased by a current member to use as a gift for someone who is currently not a member.

http://www.providenceri.com/museum