As a curator, all these people saying museum are expensive...the one I work at is $3 to enter. But there are also plenty of free museums in my area. If you are saying museums are expensive you need to open your eyes to the world of museums beyond big institutional ones. There are so many small, historical houses, historical parks, little art galleries, out there that are free or have small fees. There are also museums that have free or discounted days. There are museums that offer student discounts, senior discounts, military discounts, museums that offer free or discounts if you have SNAP benefits.
Almost all museum memberships have reciprocal benefits. It's a little more up front, but if you become a member at one museum (It's usually like $50 for a year) you get a membership card and there's usually a list of other museums that card will get you into for free.
Also you can always sign up to be a volunteer. Then you can look at the stuff all the time for free. I got my start 10 years ago as a volunteer, fell in love and made it my career.
also lots of public libraries keep a stock of free museum passes at the circulation desk for check out
if you live in the us, there's smithsonian day in september, when a bunch of museums across the country open their doors for free. you just download or print out a ticket and show up. it's gotten me into a couple of house museums and a printing museum and, er, the mapparium at the christian science mother church. (it's a giant stained glass globe. it is excessively cool.) but yes! if you just want to look at stuff, check around for free or discounted museums in your vicinity. cheaper than target and you get to see cool shit, and if you want to share the cool shit or preserve it for posterity a lot of times you can take pictures of it. and if you need to acquire a thing, every museum's got a gift shop.
also like. the cost of going into a museum vs the cost of buying shit you don't want or need from target