Bank of America’s “Museums on Us” program provides free general admission to hundreds of museums across the US on the first full weekend of every month. Present your Bank of America or Merrill Lynch credit or debit card and a picture ID at the participating museum. [spacer height=”20px”]
2018 Participating Museums
The list of participating museums changes each year. The following New York City museums are on the 2018 Museums on Us Participants Roster.
American Museum of Natural History
Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum
Museum of the City of New York
Queens Museum
Staten Island Zoological Society
The Jewish Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Fifth Avenue, Breuer, and Cloisters
Whitney Museum of American Art (Through August 4th & 5th only)
The Brooklyn Museum stays open for extended hours (11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.) with free admission after 5:00 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month (except September). .
The free Saturdays are sponsored by Target.
Target First Saturdays include special programming such as performances, gallery talks, and hands-on activities.
There’s a cash bar with Happy Hour pricing from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The museum’s restaurant and cafe also stay open late for the First Saturdays events.
Regular admission to the museum is on a suggested donation basis. Suggested general admission is $16 for adults and $10 for seniors age 62+ and students with a valid ID.
Visit the museum website for details about upcoming First Saturdays events.
The Museum’s Collections
Cakes Da Killa performing at January 2017 Target First Saturday. Brooklyn Museum photograph Kolin Mendez.
The Brooklyn Museum is large, with 560,000 square feet of space housing an extensive collection of artwork.
Highlights of the museum’s holdings include a sizable collection of ancient Egyptian art and an American art collection that includes pieces by Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keefe, Mary Cassatt, and John Singer Sargent. The museum’s European collection includes pieces by Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Latrec, and Claude Monet.
Location
The museum is located in Brooklyn, adjacent to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Prospect Park, and Prospect Park Zoo.
The street address is 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY.
The museum is easily accessible by subway. The Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum subway station is adjacent to the museum.
The International Print Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to fine art prints.
The center’s gallery space features New Print shows four times a year, plus special exhibitions.
The gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m (In July, the hours are Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.)
The gallery is open to the public and admission is free.
Note: Information is correct to the best of our knowledge at time of publication. Please visit the International Print Center website to confirm details and hours of operation.
Location
The International Print Center is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan, on West 26th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues.
Adrian evening dress, 1947, USA, printed rayon textile by Wesley Simpson/Salvador Dali. From the Adrian : Hollywood and Beyond Museum at FIT Exhibition.
The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) operates a museum that is open to the public free of charge.
The museum has three galleries, one that features special exhibitions, one that displays a portion of the museum’s permanent collection, and one for student and faculty exhibitions. Visit the museum website for information about special exhibitions on display.
The Fashion Institute of Technology is one of the top five fashion schools in the world. The college, which is part of the State University of New York system, offers degrees in art, business, design, and other fields related to the fashion industry.
Location and Hours of Operation
The Museum at FIT is located in Midtown Manhattan on 7th Avenue at 27th Street.
The street address is 227 West 27th Street.
The museum is open Tuesday – Friday from noon to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. The museum is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Regular admission is $20 for adults; $15 for seniors, educators, and active military; $12 for students; and $16 for kids ages 5 – 13 (children age 4 and under are admitted free).
Discount Admission: Groupon has a discounted admission offer available priced at $19.99 for admission for two (half-price), or $29.99 for two adults admission, plus admission for up to three children.
The New York Historical Society Museum and Library
The New York Historical Society’s museum is the oldest museum in the city.
The museum features permanent collections and changing exhibitions. Some of the special collections within the museum’s permanent collection of objects include John James Audubon’s preparatory watercolors for The Birds of America, a collection of landscape paintings by artists of the Hudson River School, the extensive folk art collection of Elie Nadelman, and a large collection of Tiffany Lamps.
An 18-minute film titled New York Story shows throughout the day. The film tells the story of New York City through the years. The last showing of the film usually starts at 4:00 p.m..
The museum’s Luce Center, which houses much of the permanent collection is undergoing renovations and is expected to reopen in late April of 2017. The renovated area will provide improved display of the permanent collection, including a new Tiffany Gallery to showcase the museum’s Tiffany lamp collection. The renovated Luce Center will also include the new Center for Women’s History, which focuses on the role women have played in American history.
See reviews of visitors to the New York Historical Society Museum & Library.
Location and Hours of Operation
The museum is open Tuesday – Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. The museum is closed on Mondays.
The New York Historical Society Museum is located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, on Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets. It’s adjacent to the American Museum of Natural History.
The street address is 170 Central Park West, New York, NY.
Naguchi Museum Interior. Photo by Elizabeth Beller (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia CommonsAdmission to the Noguhci Museum on Long Island City is free on the first Friday of each month, year round.
From May through September, first Friday hours are extended from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. and there’s a cash bar available.
The Noguchi Museum
The Noguchi Museum was founded and designed by Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi. The museum includes two floors of galleries, plus an outdoor sculpture garden.
Noguchi (1904 – 1988) is known for his work in contemporary sculpture, public art, stage sets, and modern furniture designs. There are several Noguchi public art pieces on display in NYC, including the Red Cube sculpture in Lower Manhattan.
Free gallery talks are given at 2:00 p.m..
There’s a shop and cafe on site, where you can get a snack and browse Noguchi-designed items available for sale.
Read reviews from museum visitors. [spacer height=”20px”]
Hours and Admission
The Noguchi Museum is open Wednesday – Friday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (with extended hours until 8:00 p.m. on the first Friday of the month May through September); and Saturday & Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.. The museum is closed on Mondays & Tuesdays.
The museum is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
Regular general admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students (with valid ID) and seniors (65+). NYC public high school students with a valid ID, and children under the age of 12 are admitted free.
Admission is free on the first Friday of each month.
NOTE: Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. Please visit the museum website to verify.[spacer height=”20px”]
Location
The museum is located in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens.
The address is 9-01 33rd Rd, Long Island City. The building is at the intersection of 33rd Road and Vernon Boulevard.
Visit the museum website for detailed directions on how to get to the museum. [spacer height=”20px”]
The Groupon deal is $8 for two museum admissions. That’s just $4 per person and 50% off the usual admission price of $8 per adult.
They also have a 4 person admission deal priced at $14. That’s an even better savings, at just $3.50 per person.
The promotional value of the Groupon deal vouchers is good for 90 days after purchase.
Regular-priced admission to the Museum of American Finance is $8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors (kids 6 years of age and younger are admitted free).
Note: The museum no longer offers free admission on Saturdays.
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The Museum of American Finance[spacer height=”20px”]
Museum of American Finance Main Gallery. Photo by Markus Hartel (The author) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia CommonsAt the museum, you’ll learn all about the history of Wall Street, money and finance as you explore permanent and featured exhibits. The museum’s Hamilton Room will be of interest to fans of the musical Hamilton, or anyone interested in American history and finance. The museum itself is located in a building that was once the Bank of New York, which was founded by Hamilton in 1784.
The museum is located at 48 Wall Street, in the heart of Manhattan’s Financial District. Hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Admission to the Frick Collection is free from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the first Friday of each month (except January).
Another discount admission option is Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., when admission is pay-as-you-wish.
The regular admission fee is $22 for adults, $17 for seniors, and $12 for students.
Please check the Frick Collection website to verify admission information. [spacer height=”20px”]
The Frick Collection
This art museum is located in the Henry Clay Frick House on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The museum displays his private collection, which includes old master paintings, sculpture, 18th century French furnishing, and oriental rugs, displayed in six galleries within the mansion.
The American Folk Art Museum. Photo by David Shankbone at English Wikipedia (Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons.) [CC BY 2.5], via Wikimedia CommonsThe American Folk Art Museum is a free NYC museum dedicated to the appreciation of folk art and the creations of self-taught artists and includes a collection of works from the 1700s to present day.
This small museum does not display a permanent collection, but rather features changing exhibits. Their website lists current and upcoming exhibitions.
