A dozen Pittsburgh museums offer discounts and deals this weekend for Museum Store Sunday

Have you ever spent almost as much time visiting a museum's store as you did perusing the artwork and collections inside the actual museum? Whether you tend to gravitate towards miniature replicas of a piece of artwork you admired or a souvenir Pittsburgh item created by a local artisan, there's no denying that museum shops offer some of the most unique items for gifting this holiday season.

And this weekend, a dozen Pittsburgh museums will offer discounts or special offers in their shops for Museum Store Sunday, an international event highlighting the unique items in these cultural institutions.

Last year's Museum Store Sunday saw a 35% increase in store visitors, according to the Museum Store Association. And, while you don't have to pay for museum admission to shop inside most of the stores, the day also helps bring in more visitors to visit the attractions inside the museum, too. Last year, museum visits climbed 11%.

Below are some of our favorite deals in Pittsburgh museums this weekend. Most take place on Sun., Dec. 1, but over on the North Side, a certain football home game will be closing the neighboring Carnegie Science Center, so that location has moved its celebration to Sat., Nov. 30 instead.

And, if you're really looking to reward that special person in your life with the ultimate gift, consider a museum membership: Many of the museum shops below offer additional discounts for members.

For a full list of participating museums, visit museumstoresunday.org.

Museum Store Sunday: 20% off purchases of $50 or more. (25% off for Carnegie Museum members.)

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Museum Store Sunday: 25% off all Mister Rogers merchandise. (35% off all Mister Rogers merchandise for Frick members.)

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Carnegie Museum of Art

4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland
10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun., Dec. 1

Museum Store Sunday: 20% off all regularly priced purchases of $50 or more. (25% off all regularly priced merchandise for Carnegie Museum members.) Free Gift wrap from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

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The Andy Warhol Museum

117 Sandusky St., North Side

10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun., Dec. 1

Museum Store Sunday: 20% off all regularly priced purchases of $50 or more. (25% off all regularly priced merchandise for Carnegie Museum members.) Free Gift wrap from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

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Heinz History Center

1212 Smallman St., Strip District
10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun., Dec. 1

Museum Store Sunday: Receive a free copy of Pittsburghese from Ahrn to Yinz with purchases of $75 or more. No overall discount on purchases today, but browse through the collection of gifts on its online store and believe us, you're going to want to check this shop out ...

Come on, who wouldn't want these in their holiday stocking?

click to enlarge