Growing up, school and I didn’t really get along. I wasn’t good at school, and school wasn’t really built for me either. I was nine years old when I first thought that everyone in my grade was smarter than me. What I didn’t know then — but would learn over the rest of my life — was that exposure to the arts would be absolutely critical to who I would become.

For me, my art is music. Playing music slows my brain down and provides an avenue to concentration, focus, and work. For other people it might be dance, painting, sketching — either the physical act of doing those things, or simply being immersed in them. I remember being in high school, frustrated about why things that should have made sense didn’t make sense at all. I remember how that frustration just up and vanished in the balcony of the Academy of Music while I listened to the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Exposure and immersion in the arts 100 percent changed the trajectory of my life and continue to do so every day as the executive director of Art-Reach, a 36-year-old Philadelphia organization that creates, expands and advocates for accessible opportunities in the arts for the full spectrum of society — including high school students.

When I was younger, three different barriers were always present: limited options, availability, and of course, cost. With STAMP, all 20 sites have agreed to no blackout dates or times. If the place is open, you can just go. The cost: Flashing your ID.

20 Philly museums — all free

On June 27, 2020, I got an email from one of Art-Reach’s supporters. It just said, “Call me next week to discuss an idea.” I called them, and within a few months we figured out how to relaunch STAMP (Students Accessing Museums in Philadelphia) at Art-Reach. A program that I so desperately needed as a teenager was landing at Art-Reach after several years at the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

The Virginia and Harvey Kimmel Family Fund STAMP Program is a critically important tool for people who need informal learning opportunities to excel. It’s also a really great program. Every single high school student in Philadelphia — every single high school student — can enter and explore 20 museums and attractions with free general admission simply by showing their school ID.

The full list of participating sites includes major museums in every corner of Philadelphia. During the pandemic, STAMP usage definitely dropped; the waves of Covid variants made audiences hesitant. But this year, places are ready and eager to welcome back their city. If you are one of the 62,000 Philadelphians who are in high school right now — STAMP is for you. If you are a high school teacher in Philadelphia right now — STAMP is for your students.

Art, science, history, and culture are on full display as you go through that list of sites. Whether you want to learn more about George Washington’s War Tent at the Museum of the American Revolution, visit Cézanne in the galleries at the Barnes Foundation, squeeze through the Giant Heart at the Franklin Institute, or just wander through nature at Bartram’s Garden, you can. If you want to examine the lived experience of people past and present at the African American Museum of Philadelphia, the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History and the Penn Museum, all you do is show your high school ID.

When I was younger, three different barriers were always present: limited options, availability, and of course, cost. With STAMP, all 20 sites have agreed to no blackout dates or times. If the place is open, you can just go. The cost: Flashing your ID.

How STAMP works:

1. 1. 1. Review the list of sites and pick where you want to go.
      2. Make sure you have your high school ID and head out.
      3. Show your ID at the admission desk and get your general admission ticket.
      4. The rest is up to you.

More to know:

1. 1. 1. Free admission only applies to general admission and does not include shows or special exhibitions and events.
      2. STAMP is for independent student visits: Sorry schools, this program can’t be used for field trips.
      3. Sometimes places have limited availability, so just make sure they place you choose has options for that day.
      4. If you do get there, and they are full or you can’t go in, remember that Philadelphia loves to cluster its museums, so there is probably another place pretty close to visit.
      5. Always check the list of participating sites. It changes from time to time so just make sure you have the most up to date list. The list can be found here.
      6. If you have any questions about the STAMP program, you can reach Art-Reach at [email protected]. If you have questions about a specific site and their hours or programs, contact the individual site directly.

Philadelphia has some of the best arts and culture in the country. Museums, historic sites, and gardens are working to make sure every Philadelphian feels welcome and safe in their spaces. STAMP is part of that effort.

John Orr is the Executive Director of Art-Reach as well as a member of the Mayor’s Commission for People with Disabilities, the Board of the PA Humanities, and the Board of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund. He was recently appointed by Governor Wolf to serve on the PA Developmental Disabilities Council. Art-Reach’s STAMP is funded through continued Leadership Support provided by the Virginia and Harvey Kimmel Family Fund.

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