Smithsonian Magazine Free Museum Day Sept. 21

Smithsonian Magazine Free Museum Day.  Every year Smithsonian Magazine offers free general admission-for-two to hundreds of participating museums across the United States.

How to get free tickets

To take advantage of this offer you need to fill out the form on the Smithsonian website here and then download your free ticket valid for two people. Some museums will accept the ticket from your smart phone. Check the ticket for details.  Tickets will be available for the public to download beginning August 15th, 2019.

The Museum Day ticket is good for two people per household, per address. Limit one ticket per household. If you’re planning on going as a group, consider registering for additional admit-two tickets through friends and family.

Arrive early, because the museums may limit the number of guests allowed in at one time.

Some of these museums have free days throughout the year.  Check here.

All 2019 participating Illinois museums:

Chicago

Adler Planetarium
Chicago, IL
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (CST)
Smithsonian Affiliate Museum

American Writers Museum
Chicago, IL
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CST)

Charnley-Persky House Museum
Chicago, IL
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (CST)

DuSable Museum of African American History
Chicago, IL
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CST)
Smithsonian Affiliate Museum

Glessner House
Chicago, IL
Hours: 11:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (CST)

Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
Chicago, IL
Hours: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (CST)

National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum
Chicago , IL
Hours: 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (EST)

National Hellenic Museum
Chicago, IL
Hours: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (EST)

National Museum of the American Sailor
Great Lakes, IL
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CST)
Free Everyday

Smart Museum of Art
Chicago, IL
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CST)
Free Everyday

Swedish American Museum Association of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Hours: 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (CST)

The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Chicago, IL
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CST)

Suburbs

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Springfield, IL
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CST)

Aurora Regional Fire Museum
Aurora, IL
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (CST)

Barrington History Museum
Barrington, IL
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (CST)

C.H. Moore Homestead DeWitt County Museum
Clinton, IL
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CST)

Dillon Home Museum
Sterling, IL
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (CST)

DuPage County Historical Museum
Wheaton, IL
Hours: 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (EST)
Free Everyday

Leather Archives & Museum
Chicago, IL
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (CST)

Galena Jo-Daviess County Historical Society
Galena , IL
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (CST)

Geneva History Museum
Geneva, IL
Hours: 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (CST)

Hoosier Grove Museum
Streamwood, IL
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (CST)
Free Everyday

Illinois State Museum
Springfield, IL
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (CST)

Lincoln Heritage Museum
Lincoln, IL
Hours: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (CST)

Mayslake Peabody Estate
Oak Brook, IL
Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (CST)

Peoria Riverfront Museum
Peoria, IL
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CST)
Smithsonian Affiliate Museum

Rock Island Arsenal Museum
Rock Island , IL
Hours: 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (CST)
Free Everyday

SciTech Hands on Museum
Aurora, IL
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CST)

Stacy’s Tavern Museum
Glen Ellyn, IL
Hours: 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. (CST)

The Museums at Lisle Station Park
Lisle, IL
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (CST)
Free Everyday

William M. Staerkel Planetarium
Champaign, IL
Hours: 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. (CST)

Willowbrook Wildlife Center
Glen Ellyn, IL
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CST)