As the holidays fast approach, I am happy to announce that for the first time, Nassau County will be offering the Family Holiday Passport, which guarantees unlimited entrance to all County-operated museums from Nov. 18 through Dec. 30. The Family Holiday Passport is your ticket to explore Nassau County and spend time in our many museums. Nowhere else will you be able to find so many holiday outings for the whole family at such a low cost. It is a great opportunity to do something together as a family during the holiday season.

Many of the museums included are running special holiday programs that focus on their rich histories. The cost of the pass is $25 for a family of five (two adults and three children 17 and under). The Family Holiday Passport allows the family to visit all of the Nassau County operated museums as many times as they want and includes discounts to other Nassau County events. This passport has a value of $120 if a family of five attended every museum just once and discounted events, they would be saving over $120. One visit to Old Bethpage Village Restoration or Chelsea Mansion pays for the all-access pass.

Nassau County's museums and historic homes are some of the best kept secrets on Long Island. Historic icons like the poet William Cullen Bryant, an acquaintance of Charles Dickens; Benjamin Moore, the great-great grandson of the Clement C. Moore, author of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas; and the Guggenheim family once called Nassau County home. Today, their homes, pieces of Long Island's past, are now Nassau County museums open to the public. The purpose of this program is to extend an invitation to families who are looking for fun holiday activities at rock bottom prices and also highlight Nassau's fine museums. Included in this package are the African-American Museum, Cedarmere, Chelsea Mansion, Garvies Point Museum, Old Bethpage Village Restoration, and Tackapausha Museum and Preserve. There are also special discounts for the "Battle of the Dinosaurs" exhibit at Sands Point Preserve.

The Family Holiday Passport is not restricted to Nassau County residents and it will be on sale from Nov. 1 to Dec. 16 at various Nassau County facilities.

For more information call the Nassau County Department of Parks and Recreation at 572-0200.