How you can get free entry to museums

We reside close to Washington D.C. and one of many good advantages of braving the beltway and inside site visitors is that you just get entry to a ton of free museums.

All of the Smithsonian museums within the space are free to enter (although some are timed entry so that you simply have to order a free cross) and we periodically benefit from them. They usually’re actually free, it isn’t a coy “prompt donation” sport, you merely stroll in and revel in.

That’s not the case for a lot of different museums. However should you’d prefer to get extra tradition in your life, there are a number of packages, typically related to libraries, that may get you free entry.

Right here’s what we all know, damaged down by state:

Tradition & Museum Passes

There are a number of areas and states that run a Tradition Cross or Cultural Cross program. Others name it a Museum Cross or Museum Journey Cross. All of them work equally, so I’ll clarify the fundamentals, utilizing the New York Metropolis program for example, after which share all the opposite states and the way they could differ.

New York Metropolis Tradition Cross

The NYC Tradition Cross is a program that provides you entry to 100+ cultural establishments throughout New York Metropolis. It’s essential have a library card from Brooklyn Public Library, Queens Public Library, or New York Public Library. To qualify for a library card, it’s important to be a resident of New York, work for a corporation or go to a faculty in New York Metropolis.

Then, you reserve a cross by date or venue, as you’d anything from the library. Then you possibly can print or obtain your cross and redeem it on the venue. Passes are launched at midnight on the primary of each month for the next month (Oct 1st for November passes).

Listed here are all of the organizations collaborating within the NYC Tradition Cross.

Arizona’s Act One Tradition Cross

The Arizona Act One Tradition Cross will get you free entry to just about 30 museums within the space and you may get it out of your public library (over 200+ collaborating libraries). The web site reveals each the collaborating libraries and cultural establishments.

Columbus Metropolitan Library Tradition Cross (OH)

The Columbus Metropolitan Library has passes to over a dozen native cultural establishments, from museums to zoos to gardens to the ballet. It even consists of tickets to the Columbus Clippers, the minor league Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians (two adults, 4 kids).

The Tradition Cross needs to be reserved in-person at a library however you possibly can seek for availability on-line.

Delaware Libraries Museum Cross

The Delaware Libraries Museum Cross enables you to reserve one cross per thirty days, as much as 5 per yr, and will get you entry to 10 native estates, zoos, libraries, and museums.

Georgia Public Library Expertise Passes

The Georgia Public library affords expertise passes that you may take a look at out of your native library similar to a guide. An individual or household can solely take a look at every of the passes as soon as each six months. The cross will get you entry to 11 venues within the space, together with the Alliance Theatre, Shakespeare Tavern, and the Breman Museum.

Discover Extra Illinois

Discover Extra Illinois is a broad program that spans a number of Illinois library programs and will get you entry to museums, cultural facilities, zoos, gardens, and so on. You may have three lively reservations at one time.

Miami Dade Public Library Museum Cross (FL)

Floridians with a Miami Dade Public library card can benefit from the Miami Dade Public Library Museum Cross program. There are about twenty venues collaborating and sometimes you get entry for a household of 4. You may take a look at one cross at a time.

New Orleans Public Library Tradition Cross (LA)

The New Orleans Public Library Tradition Cross is for Orleans Parish residents with a New Orleans Public Library card and you may reserve passes on-line (and in individual or over the cellphone) to go to 14 museums and cultural facilities within the space. You may solely reserve one cross per accomplice group per thirty days and could be made as much as 30 days upfront.

New Mexico FamilyPass Program

The New Mexico FamilyPass program is obtainable via the state library and Division of Cultural Affairs and offers free admission for as much as folks to just about 30 museums and historic websites within the space. Go to the library and you may take a look at the cross for one week and just one cross per household at a time.

Seattle Public Library Museum Cross (WA)

The Seattle Public Library Museum Cross will get you free entry to over a dozen museums, galleries, and zoos within the space and you may get it along with your library card. You may reserve one cross per calendar month primarily based in your go to date and new passes can be found after midday every day.

Expired Tradition Cross Packages

There are a number of tradition cross packages that primarily ran in the summertime and early fall months. I’ve included them beneath so you possibly can control them for subsequent yr:

• Greensboro Tradition Cross Program (NC) – The Greensboro Tradition Cross program was a limited-time program that resulted in October however received you entry to a dozen native museums and cultural establishments.
• Louisville Cultural Cross (KY) – younger folks ages 0-21 and their households within the Better Louisville space entry to take part in arts and cultural actions offered by over 50 venues, freed from cost, from Could 31 via August 10, 2025.
• Lexington LexARts Cultural Cross (KY) –  free entry to lots of Lexington’s arts and tradition establishments for youth grades Ok-12. The LexArts Cultural Cross is legitimate for admission at collaborating venues for Summer season 2025.
• Santa Clara County Uncover & Go (CA) – digital museum cross program for Santa Clara County Library District cardholders that provides library patrons the flexibility to order admission passes to greater than 50 museums and cultural points of interest all through the larger Bay Space.

Blue Star Museums

Blue Star Museums is a program that runs from Armed Forces Day via Labor Day (and thus will return on Could sixteenth, 2026). It offers free admission to active-duty army personnel and their households to a really lengthy record of museums, zoos, nature facilities, and extra.

Armed Forces Day is the third Saturday in Could and Labor Day is the primary Monday in September.

Museums for All

With Museums for Allin case you are receiving meals help (SNAP) you may get free or decreased admissions to 1500+ museums by merely displaying your EBT card and your photograph ID. There are tons of of collaborating cultural facilities.

Financial institution of America Museums on Us

Financial institution of America cardholders, this may be credit score or debit, get entry to their Museums on Us program. On the primary weekend of every month, you get free basic admission to quite a lot of cultural establishments in america.

There are 237 establishments throughout 39 states (it consists of even Alaska, the place you possibly can go to the Anchorage Museum!) plus Washington D.C. The states not included are Alabama, Hawaii, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The record can change so test to substantiate what you’ve gotten entry to and the place. You may see a full record on the Museums on Us program web site.

North American Reciprocal Museum Affiliation

The North American Reciprocal Museum Affiliationor NARM Affiliation, is a program wherein you be part of your native museum (on the NARM degree of membership) and also you get reciprocal entry to different museums within the NARM community. There are NARM Affiliation museums in Bermuda, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and america (sure, PR is within the US however that’s how they record it).

You may see the full record of NARM museums for 2025 and it’s huge – over 1300 members.