Free Museum Day Passes and Deals
Reduced and No-Cost Admission Offers for Cultural and Art Exhibits
Get free or cheap entrance tickets for educational science centers, aquariums, and great children's, art, historic & other museums with these special bargains and prices.
A Visit to a museum can be a fun and educational trip - and it doesn't always have to cost an arm and a leg!
There are free and inexpensive admissions and passes to museums, institutes of art, and other cultural happenings and centers in the United States that are available for the asking. Just call your local museum to find out more or read on for some locations and museums that open up their doors for free or at a discount. Here's a look at some of the best:
Target Corporation Sponsors Opportunities for Free or Reduced Admission to Museums, Cultural Events, and Art Programs Year Round
Throughout the country, some of the world’s leading museums and cultural institutions have teamed with Target to sponsor over one thousand free days per year (on certain days at varying hours). Target supports the arts by offering access to music and dance festivals, theater events and special exhibitions and programs.
Targe Store's Bargain Price or Free Offers Include:
- Chicago Children’s Museum: Target Free First Mondays
- The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Millennium Stage: free performances every day, Washington, D.C
- The High Museum: Target Free Family Fun Days, Atlanta, GA
- Asian Art Museum: Target Tuesdays. San Francisco, CA
- The Magic House / St. Louis Children's Museum: Target Free Family Nights
- Davie, Florida Children's Museum: Free First Fridays, 5:30–8:30 p.m.
- The Children's Museum of Denver, CO: Target Free First Tuesday Nights, Tuesdays, 4–8 pm
- Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI: Target free Saturdays
- Target also sponsors touring art programs that travel around the country.
Check the Community: Arts: Sponsored Happenings section of the Target website for more, and current, information.
National Smithsonian Free Museum Day
Every September Smithsonian Magazine sponsors a nationwide event where participating museums and cultural institutions across the USA offer free admission to readers of Smithsonian Magazine and those who visit the Smithsonian website. This is an event that repeats yearly, so if you miss it in 2007, please look again in September 2008.
According to the site: "Museum Day celebrates the country's cultural offerings, allows the dissemination of knowledge and brings Americans together." Search online for participating museums, fill out a short form and print your free day pass, which is good for you and a guest. Participants can also present a Museum Day Admission Card available in the yearly September issue of Smithsonian Magazine.
Some Venues Accepting Free Admission Through the Smithsonian Offer:
- The World Forestry Center in Portland, OR
- Exploratorium in San Francisco, CA
- Railway Museum of San Angelo in San Angelo, TX
- Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minneapolis, MN
- Children's Museum of Manhattan in New York, NY
- The Pier Aquarium in St. Petersburg, FL
- Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in Louisville, KY
- Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History in Hastings, NE
- National Buffalo Museum in Jamestown, ND
- Valdez Museum & Historical Archive in Valdez, AK
Find and Visit More Places for Free or at Reduced Prices
- Search online or call specific cultural centers, zoos, etc. for discount days, passes, volunteer opportunities, etc.
- In some areas, free museum admission is offered to library card holders.
- In tourist cities, special deals may be offered to travelers and locals alike.
- If traveling to Paris, visitors can buy a 'Paris Museum Pass'. The "Carte Musées et Monuments" (Museum and Monuments Map) provides admission to 60 to 70 museums and monuments, including the Louvre.
- Entertainment Books offer half price deals for many fun and educational locales.
- Members of certain groups can get discounts too (AARP, AAA, etc.).
- Homeschooling and school groups can arrange for discounted events.
