Free Museum Day for 2013

Each year, about 1400 American museums follow in the footsteps of the Smithsonian and allow the public free admittance.  This year, the day is Saturday, September 28th.  Go to the Smithsonian Magazine website and print up a ticket that will allow you and a guest to attend free of charge.  If a participating museum is closed on Saturdays, they will honor the ticket on Sunday, the 29th.  To find a participating museum, go to their website and choose by the closest to your address, or search by state. 

More Free Cultural Events, This Time from Target

We wrote some time ago about museums that open for free due to corporate sponsorship.  Now we have a new nugget on Target's sponsorship of free entrance to events and cultural spots in 32 cities around the United States.  For instance, on the Martin Luther King holiday, 2013, the Henry Ford in Dearborn Michigan is open free--with free parking--to the public.  It's also free admission on President's Day, Labor Day, and October 21st.  Likewise, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra is open for free to the public March 3rd, April 14th and June 2nd. 

Some are free admission, and some are buy one ticket, get one free, and some are reduced cost.  Check it out and see what fine cultural institutions might be available for you and your family on the cheap.

Get Your Culture Vulture On--Free Museum Passes

I realize that not many are lucky enough to have a wonderful museum like the Toledo Museum of Art free to them every day (except for special exhibits).  So we in Toledo like to bask/brag a bit.  In fact TMA is also letting active military personnel and their immediate families in free for one special exhibit, the Egypt Experience till September 4th. 

But lots of free opportunities await you at museums around the country.  On September 24, 2011, the Smithonian Museum in Washington, which is always free, sponsors a free museum day at various locations around the country.  Send them an application for a free ticket for two, and the holder can get in for free.

But many other museums have "free days" too.  The website Free Museum Day lists the free days for museums in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and San Diego.  They also list museums in those cities that are free all the time.

For military personnel and their families, museums in the Blue Star initiative (of which there are over 1500 in the U.S. and territories) are given free admission (up to five family members) between Memorial Day and Labor Day. 

Finally, holders of a Bank of America credit card are given free admission to over 150 museums around the country on certain days each month.  See the website for days in your area musuems.