Free Visits to the New York Museums

Free on Mondays

Museum at Eldridge Street. The synagogue on Eldridge Street is practically the only thing that reminds us that there used to be a Jewish quarter. Even in the first decade of this century, services were held here, but now the entire building is occupied by a museum dedicated to the immigration of Jews from the eastern regions of Europe. Tours begin every hour from 10 am to 4 pm.

Free on Tuesdays

9/11 Memorial&Museum. The September 11 tragedy museum tells the detailed story of the attack and shows some surviving artifacts, as well as the foundation of one of the towers. On Tuesday, the museum is open until 20 pm and the latest time for entry is 18:00 pm. Getting to the museum for free on Tuesday is only possible from 5 pm to 6 pm.

Society of Illustrators. The Community of Illustrators was founded in 1901 with the goal of “promoting the art of illustration as a whole and holding exhibitions from time to time”. Their collection is one of the largest in the world. It contains more than 2 000 works of American illustrators. Interesting temporary exhibitions talk about Japanese graphics, comics, and more. Free admission on Tuesday from 5 pm to 8 pm.

China Institute. The China Institute is the oldest cultural organization in the United States. It is the only one in New York devoted entirely and exclusively to Chinese culture, science, and history. Through its exhibitions, one can get acquainted with the actual art of China, as well as, for example, with Buddhist culture during the Great Silk Road, as well as with the work of other historical eras. You can go there for free on Tuesday from 6 am to 8 pm.

Free on Wednesdays

Frick Collection. The private collection of Henry Clay Frick is housed on 5th Avenue. After the death of the owners, their house was reorganized into a museum, opened in 1935. This museum is more like a private residential building with elegant interior design, tastefully selected furniture and dozens of precious paintings and sculptures, including Vermeers, Goya, Monet, Renoir and much more. You can go here for free from 2 pm to 8 pm on Wednesdays.

Bronx Zoo. The main zoo of New York is located in the Bronx and covers an area of more than 100 hectares. 6000 animals, authentic landscape and interesting exhibitions make this zoo one of the best in the USA. The zoo is open from 10 am to 16.30 pm. On Wednesday, you can get there absolutely free.

Staten Island Zoo. This small zoo is located on Staten Island. It is also sometimes called the “largest small zoo.” There is a large serpentarium with a lot of rattlesnakes. From 2 days to 16.45, admission on Wednesdays is free.

Van Cortlandt House Museum. In one of the largest parks in New York, the Van Cortland House Museum of the same name is located. This oldest private residence in the Bronx was built in the mid-18th century. The estate was even used by George Washington during the War of Independence. Now, this building is used to make visitors aware of the life of wealthy philistines in the 18th century. Among the elements of decor, the house includes the oldest surviving dollhouse in America and children’s sledges. Free entry on Wednesday from 10 am to 3 pm.

Free on Thursdays

Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Thursday is a children’s day, free admission to many museums for children. For example, at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, even adults will be able to find something from a wide range of exhibitions on 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 Art offers interactive programs for children of all ages in its spacious premises in SoHo. This is a very pleasant place to visit with children. Workshops are held to work with clay, paints and everything for children from 1 year old under the guidance of teaching staff.

The Museum of Art and Design shows collections of design art in general, as well as specific household items, clothes, and accessories. Temporary exhibitions can vary in themes from New York through the eyes of a photorealist to interesting solutions in the design of mannequins. Free admission is from 6 pm to 9 pm.

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. Actually, she tried to donate her collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There she was denied, so a new museum appeared, dedicated exclusively to American art. Now there are about 21 000 works of more than 3 000 authors: paintings, sculptures, installations of XX and XXI centuries. The exhibition can be seen for free from 7 pm to 9.30 pm.

Asia Society. It is another museum founded by the Rockefeller family. Several hundred exhibits from the Asian Community belong to the collections of John David Rockefeller 3rd and his wife. The historical range is from thousands of years BC e. until the 1800s. Free opening hours are from 6 pm to 9 pm, only from September to June.

Historic Richmond Township is the only museum in New York that considers a restored American settlement. Museum staff is doing everything to authentically tell about the life of ordinary Americans as it was in colonial times and in the early years of independence. Most of the buildings on the territory of the town are kept in their original places, as they were 200-300 years ago, many of them can be visited on their own or with special tours (starting on Fridays at 14:30 pm). Among them, there are a court building, apartment buildings, a farm, and others. You can visit Staten Island Manor for free on Fridays from 1 pm – 5 pm.

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The organization founded by the Rockefellers from its very beginnings was dedicated to contemporary art. Her building on 53rd Street is a temple and a mecca for everyone interested. Here you can find world masterpieces, such as Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”, Klimt’s “Hope II”, “Dance” by Matisse, Dali, Russo, Braque, Picasso, Malevich, Duchamp, Miro, Pollock, and many other famous artists. The museum has a wonderful sculptural garden, as well as several cinema halls where the favorites from the world cinema are constantly shown. You can get there for free Friday nights – 4 pm to 8 pm.

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

Rubin Museum of Art. The Rubin Art Museum is one of the best museums in the United States devoted to Asian art, more specifically to the Himalayas, primarily the territory of Tibet. On Fridays from 6 pm, musical evenings are held in the museum cafe. From 6 pm to 7 pm, there is even a “happy hour” when alcohol is sold in two servings at the price of one. During these hours until 22 pm, the museum’s galleries are freely open to all visitors.

Free on Saturdays

One of the best New York museums is the Solomon Guggenheim Museum. The main exhibition here is constantly changing, the museum’s collection is huge, but only a small part of it is exhibited in each separate period of several months, usually dedicated to a particular direction or group of modern art. Get ready for the long line from 5:00 on Saturday, because from 5.45 to 7.45 you can get to the museum with Pay what you wish (PWYW) option.

Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. This is the only museum in the United States that focuses on both historical and contemporary design. The museum’s collection covers the last 240 years of the art of decorative design right up to the latest innovations. You can visit the museum for free on Saturdays from 6 to 9 pm.

Wave Hill is a beautiful garden overlooking the Hudson River, a cultural center in one of the most expensive areas of the Bronx, Riverdale. Over the 150 years of its existence, many great people have lived on this estate, including Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain. Exhibitions of contemporary art, usually associated with nature are regularly held In the main building, as well as in the Glyndor Gallery. From 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and Tuesdays you can visit Wave Hill for free (open until 4.30 p.m.).

Jewish Museum. The permanent collection is dedicated to the history and culture of the Jews from ancient times to the present day and, perhaps, most vividly, to the period of immigration to the USA. For example, there is one old Hanukkah that looks like 9 statues of freedom and each has a candle instead of a torch. You can go to the museum for free on Saturdays from 11 am to 5.45 pm.

The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx can be visited free of charge from 10 am to noon on Saturday. Almost at any time of the year, one can find here some interesting plants in bloom, a huge and very beautiful greenhouse is always open for visitors.

The same schedule (free admission from 10 am to 12 am) at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. You can walk around the Japanese garden arranged in 1915, visit the garden of healthy herbs and discover the local flora. It is located near the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the wonderful Prospect Park. In addition, the garden has a free day – Tuesday.

Free on Sundays

Morgan Library and Museum. Madison Avenue in Manhattan is the home of Pierpont Morgan, near which he built the library. In 1924, James made public a collection of rare books and art objects belonging to his father. To this day, the Morgan Library exists as one of the leading educational organizations in New York. There are many rare items in the collection: for example, one of Guttenberg’s bibles and the hand-written original of Dickens’s “Christmas Stories”. You can go to the museum as much as three days a week free of charge – on Sunday, Friday, and Tuesday.

New York Hall of Science. Both children and adults will be interested in the New York Hall of Science in Queens. Here you can feel like an engineer, watch a 3D movie about the Universe, spend time on the playground and try parkour, as well as play mini-golf. The free entry here is on Sundays and Fridays.

Queens Botanical Garden. Queens Botanical Gardens are open for free on Sunday and Wednesday. The garden is a distraction from the city rush. in addition to trees and flowers, there is a garden of smells and a garden of bees.

Studio Museum in Harlem. The Studio Museum in Harlem is dedicated to art, one way or another connected with the “black” culture and history. The collection consists mainly of works of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as photographs of the legendary Harlem Renaissance photo artist – James Van Der Zee.