How to Get in the Museum for Free

Did you know that you can get into most of New York City’s museums for free or for a very nominal price? How? We’ll tell you.

Pay What You Wish

Do you know what Pay what you wish (PWYW) is? It’s a system that works in many major museums in New York City, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History. It means that when you enter the lobby – you see a fixed price (e.g. $25), but you can actually pay as much as you want – even $1. So be careful, and be sure to ask at the checkout if the museum is part of the Pay what you wish system.

Free on Saturdays

One of the best in New York is the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The main exhibition is constantly changing and the museum’s collection is vast, but only a small part of it is on display at any given period of a few months, usually devoted to a particular genre or group of contemporary art. Be prepared for long lines as early as 5 a.m. on Saturday, because from 5.45 to 7.45 a.m. you can get into the museum using the Pay what you wish system.

Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design. It is the only museum in the United States that focuses on design, both historical and contemporary. The museum’s collection covers the last 240 years of the art of decorative design through to the latest innovations. You can visit the museum for free on Saturdays from 6 to 9 p.m.

Wave Hill is both a beautiful garden overlooking the Hudson River and a cultural center in one of the Bronx’s most expensive neighborhoods, Riverdale. The estate has been home to many greats over its 150 years of existence, including Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain. The main house, as well as the Glyndor Gallery, regularly hosts exhibitions of current art, usually related to nature. From 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and Tuesdays, it is free to enter (open until 4:30 p.m.).

Jewish Museum. The permanent collection here focuses on Jewish history and culture from ancient times to the present and, perhaps most strikingly, the period of immigration to the United States (there’s one old Hanukkiah, for example, which looks like nine statues of liberty, each with a candle instead of a torch). All Saturday afternoons from 11 to 5:45, you can enter the museum for free.

The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx is free from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday. You can find interesting plants in bloom almost any time of the year, and the huge and very beautiful telpit is always open to the public.

The Brooklyn Botanical Garden has the same schedule (free admission from 10 to 12). Here you can stroll through the Japanese garden, established back in 1915, visit the herb garden and discover the local flora. Located near the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the wonderful Prospect Park. Other than that, the garden has a free day on Tuesday.

Free on Sundays

Morgan Library and Museum. On Madison Avenue in Manhattan is the home of Pierpont Morgan, near where he once built the library. In 1924, heir to the empire James made available to the public a collection of rare books and art objects that belonged to his father. To this day, the Morgan Library exists as one of the leading educational institutions in New York City. Their collection includes many rare items: for example, one of the Gutenberg Bibles and a handwritten original of Dickens’ The Christmas Stories. The museum is free three days a week – Sunday, Friday, and Tuesday.

New York Hall of Science. Children and adults alike will enjoy the New York Hall of Science in Queens. Here you can feel like an engineer, watch a 3D movie about the universe, play on the playground and try parkour, and play themed miniature golf. Free admission here on Sundays and Fridays.

Queens Botanical Garden. The Queens Botanical Garden is free on Sundays and Wednesdays. The garden is a great diversion from the hustle and bustle of the city. In addition to the trees and flowers, there is a scent garden and a bee garden.

Studio Museum in Harlem. The Studio Museum in Harlem is dedicated to art in one way or another related to “black” culture and history. The collection consists mainly of 19th- and 20th-century works, as well as photographs by the legendary Harlem Renaissance photographer James Van Der Zee.

Free on Mondays

Museum at Eldridge Street. The synagogue on Eldridge Street is virtually the only reminder that there was once a Jewish neighborhood here. Services were held here in the first decade of this century, but now the entire building is occupied by a museum dedicated to the immigration of Jews from the eastern regions of Europe. Tours start every hour from 10 to 4.

Free on Tuesdays

9/11 Memorial & Museum. The 9/11 Museum tells a detailed history of the terrorist attack and displays some surviving artifacts as well as the foundations of one of the towers. On Tuesday, the museum is open until 8 p.m. and the latest time for admission is 6 p.m.; thus, you can get in free on Tuesday only from 5 to 6 p.m. We advise you to get in line in advance, because there are usually a lot of people who want to get in.

Society of Illustrators. The Society of Illustrators was founded in 1901 to “promote the art of illustration in general and to hold exhibitions from time to time. Their collection is one of the largest in the world, containing more than 2,000 works by the stars of American illustration. Interesting temporary exhibitions cover Japanese graphics, comics and more. Free admission on Tuesdays from 5 to 8 p.m.

China Institute. The China Institute is the oldest in the United States and the only cultural organization in New York devoted entirely and exclusively to Chinese culture, science and history. Its exhibitions include both current Chinese art and, for example, Buddhist culture during the Great Silk Road, as well as works from other historical eras. You can get in for free on Tuesdays from 6 to 8 p.m.

Free on Wednesdays

Frick Collection. The Henry Clay Frick Collection is housed in a mansion on 5th Avenue. After the owners died, their home was reorganized into a museum, opened in 1935. Officially not part of the “museum mile” this museum is more like a private residence with exquisite interior decoration, tasteful furniture and several dozen precious paintings and sculptures, among which as many as three Vermeers, there is Goya, Monet, Renoir and many more. From 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Wednesday, it’s free to come in.

Bronx Zoo. New York’s premier zoo is located in the Bronx and covers more than 100 hectares. The 6,000 animals, authentic landscape and interesting exhibitions make it one of the best zoos in the United States. The zoo is open from 10 am to 4:30 pm and you can get in for free on Wednesdays.

Staten Island Zoo. This small zoo is located on Staten Island. Sometimes called the “biggest little zoo. There is a large serpentarium with a large collection of rattlesnakes. Admission is free on Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.

Van Cortlandt House Museum. In one of New York City’s largest parks is the Van Cortlandt House Museum of the same name. This is the oldest private residence in the Bronx and was built in the mid-18th century. The property was even used by George Washington’s troops during the War of Independence. The building is now used to introduce visitors to the life of wealthy burghers in the 18th century. Among the furnishings and decor, the house contains America’s oldest surviving dollhouse and children’s sled. free admission on Wednesdays from 10 to 3.

Museum of Jewish Heritage. The Museum of Jewish Heritage is located almost at the southernmost tip of Manhattan. The part of the building closest to the Hudson River looks like a six-tiered ziggurat, commemorating the Holocaust, which claimed that many millions of lives. The museum holds a huge archive of documents and photographs about pre-war Jewish life, the genocide and its aftermath. Free admission from 4 to 8 pm.

Free on Thursdays

Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Thursday is Children’s Day, free admission at many museums for children. At the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, for example, even adults can take something for themselves from the wide range of exhibitions offered about world cultures, history, science and nature, with live animals and 30,000 historical artifacts.

Children’s Museum of the Arts. Founded in 1988, the Children’s Museum of the Arts offers interactive programs for children of all ages in its spacious space in SoHo. It’s a great place to visit with children who like to tinker, because it offers independent or teacher-led workshops in clay, paint and everything for children as young as 1 year old.

The Museum of Art and Design shows selections from the art of design in general, as well as specific household items, clothing and accessories. Temporary exhibitions can range in theme from New York City through the eyes of a photorealist to interesting solutions in mannequin design. Free admission is from 6 to 9 p.m.

Museum of Chinese in America. Chinese-American relations have more than 150 years of history, perhaps most vividly expressed through immigration in the 1960s. The Museum of Chinese in America preserves and tells that history, as well as the heritage, culture and experiences of Chinese Americans. Free admission every first Thursday of the month from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

New Museum. The New Museum is a contemporary art museum. It looks like a sculpture resembling a jumble of boxes, with occasional decorations (like a full-size boat) periodically attached to the walls at different heights. According to the museum’s policy, the exhibitions mostly accept works by living authors, and not necessarily by those who have already received recognition. It is free to enter in the evening from 7 to 9.

The Drawing Center. Among the masters represented in the collection are names like Michelangelo, James Turner, Marcel Duchamp, as well as many “current” authors. The ongoing exhibitions cover the history of drawing from illustrations in children’s books to portraits from the Parisian School of Fine Arts. Free admission on Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m.

Free on Fridays

Whitney Museum of American Art. The famous museum was first opened in 1931 and contained approximately 600 works from the personal collection of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. She actually tried to donate her collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but they turned her down, so a new museum appeared dedicated exclusively to American art. Now there are about 21 thousand works of more than three thousand authors: paintings, sculptures, installations, XX and XXI centuries. From 7 to 9:30 p.m., the exhibition can be viewed for free.

Asia Society. Another museum organization founded by the Rockefeller family. Several hundred exhibits of the Asia Society belong to the collection of John David Rockefeller the 3rd and his wife. The historical range is from thousands of years B.C. to the 1800s. Free hours are 6 to 9 p.m., September through June only.

Historic Richmond Township is the only museum in New York City that is a restored American settlement. The museum staff does its best to authentically tell the life of ordinary Americans as it was in colonial times and the early years of independence. Most of the buildings on the campus are in their original places, as they were 200-300 years ago, many of them can be visited on their own or with special tours (Fridays beginning at 14:30). Among them are the courthouse, residences, farmhouse, and others. The Staten Island estates are free to visit on Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m.

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Founded by the Rockefellers, the organization has been dedicated to contemporary art from its very beginnings. Its building on 53rd Street is a temple and a mecca for all who are interested. World-class masterpieces such as Van Gogh’s Starry Night, Klimt’s Hope II, Matisse’s Dance, Dali, Rousseau, Braque, Picasso, Malevich, Duchamp, Miró, Vorhol, Pollock and many, many other famous artists can be found here. The museum has a wonderful sculpture garden, as well as several movie halls where selections from world cinema are constantly shown. Friday evenings – from 4 to 8 – are free.

Museum of the Moving Image. The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens contains the nation’s largest collection of artifacts related to the making of movies, TV productions, and digital media, including video games. One of the most interesting parts of the collection is the permanent “Behind the Scenes” exhibit, which focuses on film production and includes both interactive installations showing, for example, the dubbing process and the makeup used in famous productions. For example, you can find a mask from a John Carrey film, a Mrs. Doubtfire costume, which we remember from Robin Williams, and even a mock-up of Master Yoda from Star Wars.

New York Aquarium. The oldest American aquarium is located in Brooklyn, almost on the beach, or rather on Boardwalk, almost on the border between Brighton Beach and Coney Island. On Fridays you can get in for free – in the summer from 4 to 6 p.m., in the fall from 3 to 7.

The New-York Historical Society. The oldest museum in the city is the New York Historical Society Museum. Founded more than 200 years ago, the museum moved to the current building across from Central Park in 1908. Here you can find a lot of historical artifacts such as, for example, fragments of equestrian statue of George III, which stood at the base of Broadway and was thrown off its pedestal by revolutionaries in 1776 after the declaration of independence; the statue was almost completely melted down for bullets for muskets. You can learn many such stories from the plaques in the Historical Community Museum. Also to be found in its halls are household items from as far back as 400 years ago, examples of American folk art, illustrations for John Audubon’s famous Encyclopedia of the Birds of America, and more.

Rubin Museum of Art. The Rubin Museum of Art is one of the best museums in the United States devoted to Asian art, more specifically to the Himalayas, primarily the Tibetan area, but not only. On Fridays from 6 p.m. there are musical evenings in the museum’s café. From 6 to 7 there is even a “happy hour” when alcohol is dispensed for two servings for the price of one. During these hours until 10 p.m. the museum galleries are open to all comers.