Chicago’s museums are world-class, but having grown up a short drive from Washington, D.C., with its unsurpassed collection of free Smithsonians, I found the price tag of our city’s treasure troves a little discouraging.
But on Sept. 25, some two dozen museums around Chicago will embrace the Smithsonian tradition, throwing open their doors for free as part of the sixth annual national Museum Day. Organized bySmithsonian magazine, the event includes more than 1,200 museums nationwide and some of Chicago’s most popular (and priciest).
Want to know all the Free Days for Chicago’s museums? We’ve got ’em.
Below is a full list of participating Chicago-area museums. Check back as Sept. 25 gets closer and more museums sign on. You can get your tickets here.
- Adler Planetarium
- Aurora Regional Fire museum
- Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture
- Clarke House Museum
- DuPage County Historical Museum
- Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House
- Glesner House Museum
- Graue Mill and Museum
- Hinsdale History Museum
- Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery
- International Museum of Surgical Science
- Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
- Joliet Area Historical Museum
- Lizzardo Museum of Lapidary Art
- Mayslake Peabody Estate
- Mitchell Museum of the American Indian
- Museum of Contemporary Art
- Museum of Contemporary Photography
- National Hellenic Museum
- Smart Museum of Art
- Swedish American Museum
- Willowbrook Wildlife Center
Get your tickets
It’s the deal of the year — free admission to some two dozen
Chicagoland museums — but you’ll need special tickets. You can get
your tickets at smithsonianmag.com.
