Museum hop for free in Richmond

Looking for an outing that won’t shatter the family budget?
Richmond has three museums with free admission and a spot where the kids can cool their feet on a hot day without spending a nickel.
The Joseph Moore Museum of Natural History is located adjacent Dennis Hall, one of the science buildings on the Earlham College campus. It boasts the skeleton of a 15,000-year-old mastodon unearthed in east central Indiana.
It’s also home to an Egyptian mummy.
The museum is open year-round on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m. Full-scale tours should be scheduled in advance, and reservations can be made online. (Go to www.earlham.edu/joseph-moore-museum for details.)
Parking is available in a lot east of Dennis Hall and in front of the nearby Admissions Building.
If your taste runs more to sports than natural history, check out the Indiana Football Hall of fame, which is located in downtown Richmond at 815 N. A St. The museum, located in a former post office, is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
You’ll find Jay County’s Pete Brewster among those inducted into the hall.
Take U.S. 27 to Richmond. After the railroad overpass, the southbound lane jogs over a block to North 8th Street. Two blocks later, North 8th Street crosses North A Street, which is one-way westbound. At the next opportunity, turn left (east) and go one block to North 9th Street. Then turn left (northbound) and go back to A Street.
The hall of fame is located on North A Street between North 8th and North 9th streets. Admission is free, though donations are accepted.
And if fine art is more to your liking, the Richmond Art Museum is a stand-out. It’s located adjacent to Richmond High School on Hub Etchison Parkway.
The best way there from Jay County is to take U.S. 27 in to Sim Hodgin Parkway, then go west Sim Hodgin through the Whitewater Gorge and up to Hub Etchison, then turn left. The museum, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, is on the right, with convenient parking.
Founded in 1898, the museum currently is featuring an extensive exhibit from its permanent collection. Four galleries have works by such well-known Hoosier artists as T.C. Steele, John Elwood Bundy, William Merritt Chase, Wayman Adams, Charles Connor, J. Ottis Adams, and George H. Baker.
The exhibit also includes a number of works by regional artists who are still painting. If you look closely in Gallery B, you’ll find a piece that features the concrete arch bridge in Portland.
Some find art museums intimidating by their very nature, but the Richmond museum is engaging and low-key. And many of the works on display focus on the familiar landscape of Indiana and Ohio.
If the kids need to unwind after museum hopping, the best bet may be Thistlethwaite Falls, near Springwood Park on the north side of Richmond.
The falls, near the community of Spring Grove, is accessible via a set of concrete steps and a path. However, the path is steep and could not be considered handicapped accessible.
There’s room to park nearby, and it’s a short walk down to a shady spot where you can enjoy the falls or take off your shoes and wade in the water a bit. From U.S. 27, take Waterfall Road west about ¾ of a mile to the falls and Springwood Park.
For more information on Richmond attractions, go to www.visitrichmond.org/attractions.[[In-content Ad]]