How to Score Free Tickets to Over 1,000 Museums Nationwide in September

In September, Smithsonian Magazine will celebrate its 15th annual Museum Day. Hundreds of museums across the country will wave their admission fees for a day and here’s how you can score free museum tickets for you and your family.

Over 1,500 museums nationwide are expected to participate in this year’s Museum Day, which will take place on Saturday, Sep. 21. Families will be able to take advantage of free admission and a special curation of exhibits related to this year’s theme.

The theme of the free event will be “Smithsonian’s Year of Music,” which is actually an institution-wide initiative celebrating the Smithsonian’s musical collections and resources throughout an entire year of music-related programming. The initiative combines music-related resources in art, history, culture, science and education. “Music is a natural fit for Museum Day as this is Smithsonian’s Year of Music,” says Amy Wilkins, Chief Revenue Officer at Smithsonian Media. “It’s the perfect theme that unites us all.”

Some of the best kid-friendly museums participating include the Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum in Saginaw, Michigan; the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito, California; the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology in Troy, New York and Dinosaur Journey in Fruita, Colorado.

While the event makes museum entry free, you still need to register for a ticket. You can register for a ticket starting on Aug. 15. A single ticket provides entry for the ticket holder and one guest and only one ticket is permitted per email address. Check out the full list of participating museums and download your free ticket at the Smithsonian Magazine website.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

All photos: Courtesy of FWMSH

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