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.
