Year-Round Penny4Arts Events
Penny4Arts gives every child in Knox and surrounding counties an opportunity to attend arts and culture events/activities at the maximum cost of ONE PENNY (or FREE) when accompanied by a paying adult. See below for more details, or call us at 865-523-7543 for help. New events are added throughout the year, so please check back!
Many thanks to the employees of Messer Construction for their support of this program!
Click here to view individual events
McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture: Free Admission and Tours
Tue-Sat 9 AM – 5 PM; Sun 12-4 PM
1327 Circle Park Drive on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996
The McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, brings natural history, cultural, and art collections together to create a space for convergence, discovery, and collaboration. The museum offers complimentary admission to the general public, allowing visitors to explore independently through self-guided tours or participate in a group tour. Group tours, which require a minimum of 10 participants, are available upon request and must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.
Advance reservations required? Group tours only
Contact: 865-974-2144, museum@utk.edu
https://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/visit/
James White’s Fort: Tour the Fort
205 East Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915
Visit James White’s Fort to experience what life was like in East Tennessee more than 200 years ago! James White’s Fort is the home of James White who settled in Knoxville with a 1,000-acre land grant from the state of North Carolina. Includes White’s first home, furnished with original tools and artifacts from the period. Penny4arts may enjoy a self-guided tour of the Fort for free with paid Adult admission. No groups.
Some unforeseen circumstances (unpredictable weather, special events, etc) may cause us to close the Fort early or for a day. Please contact us before your visit to confirm hours!
Open to students outside of Knox County? YES
Advance reservations required? YES
Contact: 865-525-6514, sam@jameswhitesfort.org
https://www.jameswhitesfort.org/
Knoxville Museum of Art: Tours
Tue-Sat 10-5, Sun 1-5
1050 World’s Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37916
Guided and Unguided Tours of 10-40 people are scheduled on a case by case basis, please make your reservation at least 3 weeks in advance. To check availability for a group of 10-40 people contact DeLena Feliciano, Assistant Director of Education at dfeliciano@knoxart.org. For general admission reservations please follow the directions on the KMA home page at www.knoxart.org. Admission is always free.
View the ongoing exhibitions: Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee, Currents: Recent Art from East Tennessee and Beyond, Cycle of Life glass and steel installation, Thorne Miniature Rooms, Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass, and sculpture gardens. Additional exhibitions include: Tools as Art: Work & Play (through Aug 4, 2024), Jo Sandman/TRACES (Aug 23 – Nov 10, 2024), East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition (Nov 29, 2024 – Jan 12, 2025), States of Becoming (Jan 31 – Apr 27, 2025), and Electricity for All (May 16 – Aug 3, 2025).
Advance reservations required? YES
Contact: DeLena Feliciano, 865-525-6101 ext. 227, dfeliciano@knoxart.org
https://www.knoxart.org
Free tours are given of the Mabry-Hazen House (1711 Dandridge Ave, Knoxville, TN 37915) and Bethel Civil War Cemetery (1917 Bethel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37915).
These tours give an in-depth perspective into the lives of the families who occupied these homes and also detail the importance of these historical sites. Tours typically start at the top of each hour and end one hour before close. Open by appointment only in January & February.
Open to students outside of Knox County? YES
Advance reservations required? Large groups only.
Contact: 865-522-8661, director@mabryhazen.com
Self guided tours during open hours are free admission. Marble Springs State Historic site is happy to offer guided tours to up to three children accompanied by at least one paying adult. Visitors should register for their tour at the site cottage. Advance reservations are required for groups with more than six children.
Marble Springs State Historic Site is the last home and farm of John Sevier, Tennessee’ s first governor, who was elected in 1796. Sevier served six terms as Tennessee governor in Knoxville, the state’s first capital city. He also acted as the first and only governor of the short-lived state of Franklin. Sevier was a congressman from the Eastern District for four terms, a high-ranking officer in the North Carolina militia, and a hero at the 1780 battle of Kings Mountain against the British. Farmer, trader, land speculator, soldier, politician, husband, and father of 18 children, John Sevier embodied the pioneer spirit of the day. When he passed away in 1815, the approximate 350-acre Marble Springs had been the home he shared with second wife Catherine Sherrill, or “Bonny Kate”, and his youngest children for more than 15 years. Named for its picturesque and soothing springs and the Tennessee “pink marble” quarried nearby, the site features a period tavern, kitchen, cabin, loom house, and spring house that help interpret Tennessee’s late 18th and early 19th century history
Open to students outside of Knox County? YES
Advance reservations required? Only for groups of more than six children
Contact: 865-573-5508, info@marblesprings.net
Come join us at the top of each hour as we take you back into the founding of Knoxville and the state of Tennessee through a tour of the Governor’s house, office, and kitchen as well as the Hopkins Parker Garden. All tours Wednesday – Sunday are Penny4Arts eligible. Walk in or call ahead tours are accepted.
Advance reservations required? NO
Contact: David Hearnes, 865-525-2375, info@blountmansion.org
Historic Ramsey House: Guided Tours
Wed-Sat 10 AM – 4 PM (last tour at 3 PM)
2614 Thorn Grove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914
Ramsey House was built in 1797 by Knoxville’s first architect, Thomas Hope, for Francis Alexander Ramsey. The structure is significant for original interior and exterior architectural features and its period decorative art collection. The Ramsey Family was one of the first families to settle the Knoxville area. They played vital roles in developing civic, educational and cultural institutions.
Historic Ramsey House offers free tours to Knox and surrounding county students ages 15 and under. All children ages 15 and under must be accompanied by a paying adult (age 18 and older) in a ratio not to exceed three children per one adult. Please check the “Book a Tour” tab on our website for the most up-to-date information on our House Tour times.
Open to students outside of Knox County? YES
Advance reservations required? YES
Contact: director@ramseyhouse.org
https://www.ramseyhouse.org
East Tennessee Historical Society: Museum of East Tennessee History: Free Admission
East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902
Free admission to the Museum of East Tennessee History for one parent accompanying a participating child. Enjoy compelling stories, interesting artifacts, and colorful characters in the nationally recognized exhibition “Voices of the Land: The People of East Tennessee,” as well as regularly changing exhibits. Explore your own history and heritage in the premiere regional genealogy research library and the Knox County Archives. Browse the Museum Shop for gifts, books, and souvenirs.
Please let the front desk associate at the East Tennessee History Center know you are attending with the Penny4Arts deal to receive free museum admission.
Advanced reservations required: YES
Contact: 865-215-8824, eths@easttnhistory.org
https://easttnhistory.org/
WDVX: Blue Plate Special
Mon-Sat at 12 PM
The WDVX Blue Plate Special is a live performance radio show held at noon at Visit Knoxville (301 S. Gay Street) every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with your host Red Hickey… and on Saturday with host Sean McCollough. On Fridays WDVX takes the Blue Plate Special to Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria (200 E Jackson Ave) for “The Big Plate”. Make yourself at home as part of the WDVX family at this this daily free concert series. From blues to bluegrass, country to Celtic, folk to funk, rockabilly to hillbilly, local to international, it’s all part of the live music experience on The WDVX Blue Plate Special.
All seats are free, and visitors may come and go as they please.
Advanced reservations required: NO
For more information, please contact: Nelson Gullett: 865-544-1029
https://www.wdvx.com
The following guidelines apply to every Penny4Arts event:
+ Open to Knox and surrounding County residents (with a few exceptions);
+ All children ages 5-15 must be accompanied by a paying adult (age 18 and older) in a ratio not to exceed three children per one adult.
+ Proof of Knox and surrounding County residency may be required;
+ At least one in a group of up to four students ages 16-18 must purchase a regular adult admission/ticket (if applicable) for the group to be able to participate in Penny4Arts.