TIP – Museums Are FREEEEE! And Fun!

To the best of my knowledge, the following listing should be the most thorough and recent compilation of free LA museum days that’s currently on the web. Please feel free to e-mail us with additions, corrections or alterations to the list so we can keep it up to date. Thanks.

Finances are tight for everyone right now. The bad news is one in ten Americans is unemployed. The good news is… you live in Los Angeles where, contrary to how it may seem, there are some incredible, world-class resources that can be enjoyed for little to no money. Case in point… did you know that almost every museum in town – large and small – can be visited for free at least once a month? It’s true. Whether you’re interested in anthopology or art history or aeronautics or stuffed bunnies… you can learn more about them at the places listed below without giving up your rent money. So get out there and explore!

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VARIED FREE TIMES



Dominguez Rancho Museum, Rancho Dominguez – 1st Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each month and every Wednesday and Sunday for guided tours only

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Miracle Mile, Museum Row – After 5pm every day, museum admission is on a pay-what-you-wish basis

Museum of Jurassic Technology, Culver City – After 7:45pm Thursdays, after 5:45pm Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays (regular price is $5 suggested donation)

USC Fisher Gallery, Downtown – Tuesdays through Saturdays, 12-5pm

EVERY TUESDAY

June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives, West Hollywood – Tuesdays 12-3pm



EVERY WEDNESDAY

Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology, Claremont – Wednesdays ALL DAY

EVERY THURSDAY

UCLA Hammer Museum, Westwood – Thursdays ALL DAY

Skirball Cultural Center, Brentwood (?) – Thursdays 12-9pm

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Downtown – Thursdays 5-8pm

MOCA Geffen Contemporary, Downtown – Thursdays 5-8pm

Japanese American National Museum, Little Tokyo – Thursdays 5-8pm/3rd Thursday ALL DAY

EVERY FRIDAY

Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach – Fridays ALL DAY

Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach – Fridays ALL DAY (check website for Free Sundays for families)

Mak Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House, West Hollywood – Fridays from 4–6pm

Bowers Museum, Santa Ana – First 100 visitors per hour on Fridays between 4-8pm

Wende Museum of the Cold War, Culver City – 10am to 5pm, tour of the Vault at 3pm

MONTHLY WEEKDAYS

George C. Page Museum @ the La Brea Tar Pits, Miracle Mile, Museum Row – 1st Tuesday ALL DAY

Natural History Museum, Exposition Park, Downtown– 1st Tuesday ALL DAY

Kidspace Children’s Museum, Pasadena – 1st Tuesday of the month 4-8pm

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Miracle Mile, Museum Row – 2nd Tuesday ALL DAY – Special programming and FREE for all on Martin Luther King Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day (holidays sponsored by Target)

Autry National Center: Museum of the American West, Griffith Park – 2nd Tuesday ALL DAY

Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Arcadia – 3rd Tuesday ALL DAY

Craft and Folk Art Museum, Miracle Mile, Museum Row – 1st Wednesday ALL DAY

Huntington Library, Collections and Botanical Gardens, Pasadena – 1st Thursday ALL DAY (Ticket reservation required, available beginning the 1st of the preceding month – so September tickets would be available as of August 1st)

Museum of Neon Art, Downtown – 2nd Thursday 5-8pm

Japanese American National Museum, Little Tokyo – 3rd Thursday ALL DAY

Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena – 1st Friday ALL DAY

Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena – 1st Friday 6-9pm

Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena – 4th Friday ALL DAY

Walt Disney’s Carolwood Barn, Holmby Hills – 3rd Sunday 11am-3pm

MUSEUMS THAT ARE

ALWAYS 100% FREEEEE!



Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills – Closed Mondays

African American Firefighter Museum, Los Angeles

Annenberg Space For Photography, Century Park

Arcadia Historical Museum, Arcadia

Automobile Driving Museum, El Segundo – Open Saturday and Sunday 10am-4pm, Tuesday through Friday by appointment only

Autry Southwest Museum of the American Indian, Mount Washington

Bunny Museum, Pasadena – Open daily but by appointment only since it’s also a private home

Burbank Aviation Museum, Burbank – Open Sundays from noon till 4pm

Burbank Historical Society, Burbank – Open Saturdays and Sundays from 1-4pm

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, San Pedro

California African American Museum, Exposition Park, Downtown

Avila Adobe, Olvera Street, Downtown

California Science Center, Exposition Park, Downtown

Center for Land Use Interpretation, Culver City

Corita Art Center, Hollywood

Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museums & Galleries, Downtown

Forest Lawn Museum, Glendale

Forest Lawn Museum of Mexican and American History, Burbank

Fort MacArthur Museum, San Pedro (Suggested donation of $3 for adults)

Fowler Museum of Cultural History at UCLA, Westwood

General Phineas Banning Residence Museum, Wilmington (Suggested donation of $5 for adults)

Getty Center, Brentwood

Getty Villa, Pacific Palisades

Go For Broke National Monument and Education Center, Downtown

Griffith Park Observatory, Los Feliz

Hollywood Bowl Museum, Hollywood

Korean Cultural Center, Mid-Wilshire

LAX Flight Path Learning Center, Los Angeles

Los Angeles Fire Department Museum, Hollywood (Open Saturdays 10-4 ONLY)

Los Angeles Maritime Museum, San Pedro (Suggested donation of $3 for adults)

Los Angeles Valley College Historical Museum, Van Nuys

Lummis Home, Mount Washington – open 12-4 pm, Friday through Sunday

Manhattan Beach Historical Museum, Manhattan Beach – open 12-3pm on Saturdays and Sundays

MOCA at the Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood

Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Fullerton

Museum of Television and Radio, Beverly Hills

Nethercutt Collection and Nethercutt Museum, Sylmar

Newport Sports Museum, Newport Beach

Paley Center for the Media, Beverly Hills (Suggested donation of $10 for adults)

Point Fermin Lighthouse, San Pedro

Psychiatry: an Industry of Death Museum (sponsored by… you guessed it: The Church of Scientology!), Hollywood

Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica (Suggested donation of $5)

STARS Center Sheriffs Museum, 11515 Colima Road, Whittier

Travel Town Museum, Griffith Park

Wells Fargo History Museum, Downtown

Workman & Temple Family Homestead Museum, City of Industry