Wondering what to do this summer? Brigham Young University has a variety of museums, workshops and camps that are perfect for children, visitors, youth groups and families, and many of them are free. See the listings below to find something for everyone to enjoy. For holiday hours, please contact the individual site.
Conferences and Workshops
BYU Conferences and Workshops offer a wide variety of dance, music and academic summer camps for children and youth, as well as education workshops for teachers. For more information, visit conferences.byu.edu or call (801) 422-3559.
Sports Camps
BYU Athletics will be hosting more than 60 different sports camps and clinics. Campers at BYU get an experience unlike any other as nationally recognized coaches and athletes offer top-caliber training in an environment that is nurturing to both body and spirit. For more information, visit byucougars.com/SportsCamps, call (801) 422-5724 or email sportscamps@byu.edu.
BYU Museum of Art
The Museum of Art is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday evening until 9 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Tours are also available.
Current exhibits at the MOA include:
- “At War! The Changing Face of American War Illustration,” is a new exhibition at the BYU Museum of Art and consists of nearly 70 works of art, including posters, paintings, comic strips, editorial cartoons, animation and video. The exhibition examines the similarities and differences of both the medium and message of American war imagery from 1913 to 2003. The exhibit closes Aug. 3.
- “The Matter of Words: Adam Bateman, Harrell Fletcher and John Fraser” features 46 works of art by three contemporary artists that reference the medium of the printed word and will be on view through Saturday, Nov. 26, in the Marian Adelaide Morris Cannon Gallery on the main level of the museum.
- "Selections from the Anthony Pritzker and Pritzker Family Trusts Collection of Contemporary Art" brings together unique artworks of familiar objects. Altering natural qualities, these artists manipulate basic elements to recalibrate our focus. By removing these objects from their typical contexts and by changing their color, medium, size, and other physical characteristics, the audience is left to explore new meanings, while contemplating the old. This exhibition features works by Sylvie Fleury, Jenny Holzer, Mark Swanson and David Zink Yi. For more information, visit moa.byu.edu or call (801) 422-ARTS.
For more information, visit moa.byu.edu or call (801) 422-ARTS.
“Education in Zion” Exhibit
“Education in Zion” tells the story of Church education from the revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith to the contemporary educational program that benefits the worldwide Church today. The exhibit, located in the Joseph F. Smith Building, is open Monday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Tours of the “Education in Zion” exhibition start at 1 p.m. every weekday. These tours will begin in the lobby on the main floor of the Joseph F. Smith Building. Come prepared to learn and experience the inspiring stories of educators of the past. For large groups, call the gallery Information desk at (801) 422-6519.
In addition to the permanent exhibition on the second floor, the gallery includes exhibit spaces on the third floor and lower level for rotating exhibitions. These spaces highlight and display the contemporary educational endeavors of BYU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The current exhibition on rotated display is “After Eve” which showcases 12 student’s work celebrating women and education.
Weekly Family Home Evening events are available at the “Education in Zion” exhibit. Visitors will step into BYU's legendary past with costumed gallery educators and hear the experiences of many great educators and students who have gone before. Hear how they sacrificed and endured in order to receive and promote education at BYU and in the Church. Tours start every half hour from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m and last 30 minutes.
For scheduling large tours or for more information, visit educationinzion.byu.edu or call (801) 422-6519.
Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum
The Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, located southeast of the Marriott Center, has a variety of displays and activities for children and adults. It is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to most exhibits and events is free.
The Bean Museum offers free live animal shows Mondays at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 1 and 3 p.m.
Every Wednesday at 11 a.m., children ages 10 and younger can enjoy story time at the Bean Museum, with books of animals and nature read by a professional storyteller. Live animals are also showcased. Story time is free each week, and registration is not necessary.
Children ages 5-12 are invited to the “Saturday Safari” at the Bean Museum. Beginning June 11, each Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon participants will be transported to rain forests, deep ocean trenches, deserts and tundras, learning about the animals that inhabit each place. Registration is $12 per child and is due one week in advance. Registration is not accepted the day of the class due to preparations involved.
Wildlife Adventures are held at the Bean Life Science Museum Tuesdays noon–2 p.m. and Thursdays noon–4 p.m. The adventures will allow children to learn about life sciences (Tuesdays), visit places like the zoo or Timpanogos caves or try to catch reptiles at a pond. Wildlife Adventures are $35 per child.
The Bean Life Science Museum will host Nature Experienceships. Children ages 12 and older (including adults) can sign up to spend time with an expert. Experienceships cost $10 and can be reserved by calling the museum.
For more information about Bean Museum events or registration, visit mlbean.byu.edu or call (801) 422-5051.
Museum of Paleontology
The BYU Museum of Paleontology (formerly the Earth Science Museum) offers visitors a view of real fossils. The museum, located at 1683 N. Canyon Road in Provo, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday with extended family night hours Monday from 6 to 9 p.m. Admission is free.
The Museum of Paleontology, formerly the Earth Science Museum, was recently expanded to display most of its collection. With the new 5,000 square-foot addition, the museum features a replica of a 9-foot-long triceratops skull from Montana, dinosaur bones found last summer near Moab, a Cretaceous nest, dinosaur skeletons of a Camptosaurus and an Allosaurus and a mural of the Utah-Colorado region in the Jurassic Period. Visitors can touch real fossils and view fossils being prepared in the active laboratory.
For more information about the Museum of Paleontology’s activities and displays, visit cpms.byu.edu or call (801) 422-3680.
Museum of Peoples and Cultures
The Museum of Peoples and Cultures, located at 700 N. 100 E. in Provo, recently opened a new exhibit, “Entwined: A Vibrant Heritage of the Modern Maya,” which teaches about a weaving skill that has carried on through the generations. Regular museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
The MPC offers FHE nights every second Monday of the month. There is a 6:30 p.m. FHE for families from the community and a 7:30 p.m. FHE for student FHE groups. Reservations are required and cost $5 ($10 for groups over 15). Call (801) 422-0020 to make a reservation. Reservations must be made by noon on the day the group wants to attend.
Mornings@the Museum is a free, hour-long program designed for children from ages 5 to 11 and will take place every Tuesday and Thursday at 11 a.m. from June 7 until Aug. 4. Accompanied by their parents, children will have the chance to explore and learn about new cultures. Each session includes a cultural presentation and a hands-on activity that children will get to take home. The themes for 2011 are “Archaeology of Utah Valley,” “The Art of Maya Textiles” and “Ancient Greece.” The event is free, but space is limited and reservations at (801) 422-0020 are required for attendance.
The MPC’s “Stories from Around the World” is for preschoolers and young children to enjoy learning about various cultures through folktales and stories about children from other parts of the world. Admission is free.
A special Boy Scouts of America patch is also available to MPC patrons. With each new exhibit, the museum offers a scouting patch that relates to the exhibit. Patch requirements may be fulfilled by visiting the museum, touring and completing the related activity form. Patches are sold at the Boy Scout Offices at 748 N. 1340 W., Orem, Utah.
For more information about MPC events, visit mpc.byu.edu or call (801) 422-0020.
Royden G. Derrick Planetarium
The Royden G. Derrick Planetarium at BYU’s Eyring Science Center offers Friday shows hosted by the BYU Astronomical Society from 7 to 8 p.m. and 8 to 9 p.m. Tickets go on sale at the planetarium door starting at 6:30 p.m. and are $2 each. The planetarium shows are given with the theatre lights off; please do not bring children too young to enjoy the shows. Visit the planetarium.byu.edu to confirm availability.
The Derrick Planetarium also hosts outreach shows Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. and Wednesdays from 10 to 11 a.m. These shows can be scheduled by groups of at least 20 people or more. Boy Scout, Young Men and Young Women groups are invited to attend. Groups must have at least 20 people. For a schedule of shows and more information, visit planetarium.byu.edu.
Harold B. Lee Library Family History Library
Individuals interested in family history and genealogy are welcome at the Family History Library, 2250 Lee Library, open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to midnight and Saturday 8 a.m. to midnight, with additional hours on the second and fourth Sundays of each month from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. It is closed on holidays. Family history consultants and classes are available during most hours of the day. Admission is free. For more information, visit lib.byu.edu/sites/familyhistory or call (801) 422-6200.
For access to the BYU events calendar, visit byunews.byu.edu/calendar.
Follow BYU events on Twitter: @BYUcalendar.
Writer: Mel Gardner
