A free puppet show comes with a book to keep, Louisville libraries have hands on activities throughout the week, and Friday brings apple tasting, St. James and a $7.50 Bats festival. Here are 15 fall break plans that will not wreck the family budget.
JCPS students are out of school from Monday, Sept. 28 through Friday, Oct. 2. Add the weekends on both sides and students get nine consecutive days away from class, from Saturday, Sept. 26 through Sunday, Oct. 4.
That is a lot of hours to fill if the family is staying in Louisville.
The good news is that fall break lands on a useful week for families trying not to spend $100 every time they leave the house. Louisville Free Public Library has children's programming on every weekday of the break, outdoor attractions are heading into comfortable fall weather, and two of Louisville's bigger October events begin on the final day.
JCPS Insider checked current organizer listings, prices, schedules and LFPL event statuses. As of Sept. 19, none of the five library programs highlighted below is marked Registration Required, Full, Closed or Waitlist. LFPL does use those labels on other programs during the same week, so families should still recheck the listing before leaving home.
One warning before planning a completely free week: free admission does not always mean a zero dollar outing. Parking, food, shopping and optional activities can still add to the bill.
Five days, five library activities
If you want one actual plan for each weekday rather than another list of playgrounds, start here.
1. Monday: Puppets in the Park and a free book to keep
Louisville Free Public Library is taking storytime outside Monday, Sept. 28.
Puppets in the Park runs from 2 to 3 p.m. at Festival Plaza in Waterfront Park, 231 E. Witherspoon Street. Children can watch a puppet storytime and then visit LFPL's Caterpillar Bookmobile to choose a free book to keep.
The library says the show is best suited for ages 3 through 8, although books are available for children and teens. An adult must stay with children, and the event is weather permitting.
If rain wipes out the outdoor plan, the free 21c Museum on West Main Street is an indoor backup and is open around the clock.
2. Tuesday: Crafts, Legos and board games at Crescent Hill
Crescent Hill Library has Craft, Build, and Game from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Children can make a craft, build with Legos and play a board game. The program is for ages 5 through 12 at 2762 Frankfort Avenue.
3. Wednesday: Change a fairy tale with engineering
Newburg Library turns fairy tales into a science problem Wednesday, Sept. 30.
Fairy Tale Adventures in Engineering runs from 2 to 3 p.m. at 4800 Exeter Avenue. Children work in groups and use science and engineering skills to change the outcome of familiar fairy and folk tales.
LFPL lists the program for school age children. Children younger than 10 need adult guidance and assistance.
4. Thursday: Kentucky Shakespeare brings fairy tales to Parkland
Kentucky Shakespeare is at Parkland Library from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, for Fairy Tales Around the World.
The program introduces children to stories from different regions and eras while mixing in history, geography, oral tradition and performance. LFPL lists it for ages 3 through 9 at 2743 Virginia Avenue.
There is a useful registration contrast that afternoon. Southwest Regional also has Living History: We the People from 2 to 3 p.m., and LFPL marks that program Open and Registration Required.
5. Friday: Taste apples, make applesauce and try an apple hand pie
Southwest Regional Library has Apple Tasting from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at 9725 Dixie Highway.
Children can sample apple varieties, learn to make applesauce with the library's Charlie Cart, experiment with pie dough for apple hand pies and vote for their favorite apple.
The program is listed for ages 3 through 12.
Free places that work around your schedule
Not every family can build fall break around a 2 p.m. start time. These are the options to keep in reserve when work, sports, naps or weather blow up the original plan.
6. Explore the Louisville Nature Center for free
The Louisville Nature Center is always free.
Families can use the nature play area, sensory garden and nearly two miles of trails at Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve. The trails and nature play area are open daily from dawn to dusk. The center sits at 3745 Illinois Avenue, across from the Louisville Zoo and next to Joe Creason Park.
7. Take over an afternoon at Beckley Creek Park
Beckley Creek Park gives families the Marshall Playground, picnic areas and trails without an admission ticket.
There may even be a last chance for the sprayground during the first three days of fall break. The Parklands says the water remains on through September, weather permitting, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
JCPS Insider's Free Outings guide has more parks, walks and no ticket options around Louisville if Beckley Creek is not convenient.
8. Make Waterfront Park the whole outing, not just the bridge
Waterfront Park has three play areas, including PlayPort at 1105 Rowan Street, the Adventure Playground and Splash Park, and the original Children's Play Area.
PlayPort and the Adventure Playground are open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. The Splash Park operates from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. from May through October. Families can also walk or bike onto the Big Four Bridge.
9. Walk into an art museum whenever you want
The museum inside 21c Museum Hotel at 700 W. Main Street is open around the clock and free.
10. Take the kids to KMAC for free and pay only for the adults
KMAC Contemporary Art Museum at 715 W. Main Street is not completely free for every family, but its admission policy is unusually friendly to families.
Children and students are free. General adult admission is $8. Seniors and military visitors pay $5. Kentucky educators, SNAP or EBT cardholders and members of the TARC Riders Club with a MyTARC card also receive free admission.
KMAC is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., so it is available Tuesday through Friday during the school break.
KMAC and 21c are both on West Main Street, making them easy to combine.
11. Visit a museum in Jeffersontown that really is free
The Jeffersontown Historical Museum is easy to overlook, even for families who live nearby.
Admission is free, and the museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 10635 Watterson Trail.
Its current exhibit is Our Heroes: A Salute to Jeffersontown's Veterans, presented in honor of America's 250th anniversary.
Three outings that are cheap enough to make the cut
These are not completely free, but the admission price is still far below many major family attractions.
12. See the fossil beds at the best time of year
Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville has a fall break advantage that has nothing to do with school.
Indiana's Department of Natural Resources says August through October normally provides the best access to the park's 220 acres of fossil beds because Ohio River levels are generally lowest during that period. The exposed beds are about 390 million years old.
Parking is $2. Interpretive Center admission is $9 for ages 12 and older, $7 for ages 5 through 11 and free for children younger than 5.
One rule worth telling the kids before they arrive: fossils cannot be removed from the fossil beds or river bank. The park has designated collecting piles near the parking lot where rocks may be taken.
13. Spend the day at Bernheim for a suggested $15 per car
Bernheim Forest and Arboretum gives families more than 16,000 acres to explore.
Bernheim lists a recommended admission of $15 per car. Current seasonal hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the Visitor Center open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The entrance is at 2075 Clermont Road in Clermont.
Pack lunch and it can become a long fall break outing without paying admission for each person.
Friday is the biggest event day of the break
Oct. 2 is not just the last weekday of JCPS fall break. Apple Tasting is that afternoon, and two of Louisville's larger October events also begin that day.
They are not all in the same neighborhood. Apple Tasting is on Dixie Highway, St. James is in Old Louisville and the Bats festival is downtown. For most families, the sensible plan is to pick Apple Tasting or St. James for the daytime, then head to Slugger Field at 6 p.m. if everyone still has energy.
14. Walk the St. James Court Art Show for free
The St. James Court Art Show opens Friday, Oct. 2 in historic Old Louisville.
Friday hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., admission is free, and the show continues through Sunday. Organizers say more than 600 artists will participate across six sections. It is held rain or shine. Pets are not allowed except service animals.
Families driving downtown also have an option that avoids hunting for parking in Old Louisville. Visitors can park at PARC's Brown Hotel Parking Garage for $12 and use the TARC connection to and from the show, with buses scheduled about every 15 minutes.
15. Finish fall break with the Louisville Bats Fall Festival
The Louisville Bats Fall Festival runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2 at Louisville Slugger Field.
General admission is $7.50 for adults and children ages 3 and older. Children 2 and younger are free.
The Bats are advertising trick or treating around the concourse, pumpkin decorating, carnival games, face painting, live music, a costume contest, a Spooky Zone and a showing of Casper on the video board.
A family of four with two children age 3 or older would pay $30 in admission before food or other purchases.
Parking is free for festival guests in the main Louisville Slugger Field lot at Main and Jackson streets. The stadium's clear bag policy remains in effect.
JCPS Insider's Louisville Fall Festivals guide has the larger October calendar, including events beginning during fall break and festivals arriving over the following weekends.
Families looking for more backup options can also use JCPS Insider's Free Outings guide, which includes parks, walks, libraries and other outings that do not depend on one particular fall break date.
Schedules, outdoor conditions and event availability can change. Check the organizer's current listing before you go.