× Expand Adler Planetarium

This weekend will be perfect to walk among the trees at the Morton Arboretum, learn about Mars and the stars at the Adler Planetarium or pay a visit to the more than 40 species of exotic high-flying butterflies in the Judy Istock Butterfly Haven at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Thanks to Museum Day Live!, you and a guest can visit each of those places and many more cultural institutions for free on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017.

Museum Day Live! is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian Magazine. It is billed as a “celebration of endless curiosity” and is a great reason to either revisit one of your favorite museums or to check out somewhere brand new to you and your family.

In the Chicago area, the following museum and cultural institutions are participating:

Adler Planetarium

Aurora Regional Fire Museum

Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture

Busy Beaver Button Museum

Chicago History Museum

DuSable Museum of African American History

Geneva History Museum

Glessner House Museum

Illinois Holocaust & Education Center

International Museum of Surgical Science

Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art

Lincoln Heritage Museum

Mayslake Peabody Estate

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Museum of the Grand Prairie

National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum

National Hellenic Museum

Peoria Riverfront Museum

Poplar Grove Vintage Wings and Wheels Museum

Smart Museum of Art

The Museums at Lisle Station Park

The Morton Arboretum

The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Willowbrook Wildlife Center

You can find all participating museum around the country here.

Here's how Museum Day Live! works: once you've determined where you'd like to visit, head to the Museum Day Live! website and enter your choice and email address. They will send you an email with a link to your downloadable ticket. Some venues are accepting tickets on your smartphone.

Each Museum Day Live! ticket is good for admission for the ticket holder and one additional person. The fine print says one ticket per household. The ticket is not valid for special exhibits, IMAX film screenings, parking or other offers. If you're not sure what's covered, call ahead. You may visit only one museum with a Museum Day Live! ticket.

If Saturday doesn't work for your family's schedule, fear not! There are other free days coming up. You can find a listing of museum free days on Chicago Parent and read the best tips on making the most of museum free days.