Free Museums In Southern California
If someone told you that you can get free tickets for free days to over dozens of Free Museums In Southern California, what would you say? Some offer free admission year and some have free parking as well. Wouldn’t you want to take advantage of the free museum day when you can? Well here are some awesome socal museums that you can explore. General museum admission and admission fees may vary on various days and participating museum. Regular parking fees may apply as well.
What’s also unique about some of these museum is that they have special exhibitions, permanent exhibits, permanent collection, and free things as well. These cultural institutions not only showcase the cultural heritage but also European art that is available to explore. Some are small museum and others are huge so prepare yourself well for the necessary walks. The experience and the knowledge you gain from walking through these museums are beyond your expectations.
These are some of the Free Museums In Southern California that are always free:
- The Broad – Various Rotating Exhibitions
- California African American Museum
- California Science Center /Exposition Park space shuttle endeavour (considered to be one of children’s favorite places to visit)
- Cayton’s Children’s Museum In Santa Monica (Great place to visit before or after the beach visit)
- Chinese American Museum
- Getty Center (free but parking is $20)
- Getty Villa In Pacific Coast Highway (free but parking is $20)
- Griffith Observatory – Griffith Park – You can see the famous Hollywood Sign
- Hammer Museum (UCLA)
- Holocaust Museum L.A. (California Residents are free)
- Museums In Olvera Street
- FIDM Museum & Galleries
- Forest Lawn Museum
- Orange County Great Park
- Palm Court Arts Complex
- Travel Town Museum
- Torrance Art Museum
- The Zimmerman Automobile Driving Museum
- Wende Museum
- Zimmer Children’s Museum)
- Muckenthaler cultural center the outdoor Sculpture Garden and Sunset Garden actual cultural center charges admission and convenience fee too.
These are Free Museums In Southern California during selected times and hours basis:
- The Arboretum and Botanical Gardens (Free On The Third Tuesday of the month) (They have some beautiful garden areas to explore)
- Autry Museum Of The American West (Free On Second Tuesday Of Every month)
- Bowers Museum in Santa Ana (Free First Sunday and Third Tuesday Of Every Month)
- La Habra Children’s Museum (Free Target First Saturday Of Every Month)
- Descanso Gardens (Free On Third Tuesday of the month)
- The Huntington (Free On The First Thursday of the month)
- Institute of Contemporary Art Wednesday–Sunday, 12–5pm
- La Brea Tar Pits And Page Museum (3 to 5 p.m. daily for L.A. County residents)
- Japanese American National Museum In Little Tokyo (free on Thursdays)
- Norton Simon Museum (Free First Friday of Every month from 5pm-8pm
- LACMA( Los Angeles County Museum Of Art) (weekdays after 3 pm for L.A. County residents; every second Tuesday of the month for all)
- Kidspace Children’s Museum (Free on First Friday of every month from 4 to 7 p.m.) (Many interactive activities for kids to enjoy)
- Museum Of Contemporary Art (Free every Thursday 5-8pm)
- Natural History Museum Of Los Angeles County – (3 to 5 p.m. daily for L.A. County residents get free general admission) (Free First Tuesday Of Every Month)
- Fowler Museum – Free admission from 12-5pm
- Orange County Museum Of Art (Free On The Second Sunday Of Every Month)
- Laguna Art Museum (First Thursday Of Every Month from 6 to 9 p.m.)
- Museum of Latin American Art In Long Beach (free every Sunday)
- Palm Springs Art Museum (every Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m.)
- Grammy Museum In Culver City – (free for kids 4 and under)
- Santa Barbara Historical Museum (first Thursday of the month from 5 to 8 p.m.)
- Santa Barbara Museum Of Art (free every Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.)
- Santa Paula Art Museum (free every first Sunday of the month)
- Skirball Cultural Center (free every Thursday)
- USC Pacific Asia Museum (free every Thursday)
These museums have admissions but are worth the visits too
- Museum Of Tolerance – Very well known for the Anne Frank Exhibition
- Exposition Park – Consists sports facilities (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, venues for entertainment, California Science Center, California African American Museum, and Natural History Museum Of Los Angeles County.
- Pasadena Museum Of California Art
- Columbia Memorial Space Center
- Folk Art Museum Craft Contemporary
- Annenberg Space
- Paley Center
- University Art Museum (some of the universities have an art museum within the schools)
- Sunnylands center (temporarily closed for the summer but will be re-opened in the fall on September 14th)
- World Of Illusions Museum
- Grammy Museum L.A.Live
- Discovery Cube Los Angeles (membership options available)
- Discovery Cube Orange County (membership options available)
- Nethercutt Museum
If you are ever in the area, take the time to get the free museum admission. Take advantage of the free days and hours as well since, it’s usually just once a month benefits. Be sure to explore the individual museum websites to get more visitor information because some might require timed reservation with Covid protocols still in effect. Some of these museums have tours of the historic house or botanical gardens as well. Some museum might also require one-hour tickets as they invite visitors to practice safety protocols while Covid regulations are still in affect.
Museums are a great way for children and families to explore, especially on holidays like labor day or memorial day. Keep a reminder of the special free days and times so that you won’t miss the events that are happening near you. Summer time would be a great time to take advantage of it as well since the kids are out of school and not time restricted. Try to explore as many of these as possible so that you can make comparisons on each site and the important values behind them.