30 museums will be offering free admission on Saturday, February 1st for the 16th Annual Sacramento Museum Day!
Museum Day, a Sacramento cultural tradition, invites all members of the community to experience the Capital City’s incredible wealth of art, history, science and wildlife at numerous participating museums AT NO COST. Admission to most museums is FREE, with just a couple of museums offering half-price admission. Chipotle, one of the sponsors of Sacramento Museum Day will be passing out coupons to visitors, good for FREE Kids meals as well.
Sacramento Museum Day takes place from 10pm to 5pm (all participating museums close at 5 pm but last guests admitted at 4pm).
The event’s coordinators suggest that guests plan to see no more than two or three different museums this day, so as to allow adequate time to enjoy the experience and to travel between individual sites. Also, since some museums must limit the number of admissions this day for safety reasons, guests are asked to consider NOT visiting certain museums this day, as there may be a long wait before you’ll be admitted.
Museums that have experienced overcrowding during past Museum Days, and are likely to require a wait include the Crocker Art Museum, Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park, and the Sacramento Zoo.
In addition to free or reduced-cost admission, some museums will also have some special activities going on for all to enjoy. The Aerospace Museum will have an open cockpit day, a children’s art contest and the Tuskeegee Airmen exhibit, and the Heidrick Ag History Center in Woodland will have a special selection of “big monster tractors” on display. As always, I encourage you to plan ahead and go early, as many of the museum fill up to capacity quickly on Museum Day.
For more information on Sacramento Museum Day, click here.
Museums offering FREE admission:
Aerospace Museum of California
California Automobile Museum
The California Museum
California State Capitol Museum
California State Military Museum
California State Railroad Museum
California Statewide Museum Collections Center
Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento
Center for Sacramento History
Crocker Art Museum
Discovery Museum Science and Space Center
Don & June Salvatori California Pharmacy Museum
Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park
Heidrick Ag History Center (Woodland)
Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park
Maidu Museum & Historic Site (Roseville)
Museum of Medical History
Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum
Old Sacramento State Historic Park
Roseville Utility Exploration Center
Sacramento Children’s Museum
Sacramento Historic City Cemetery
Sacramento History Museum
Sojourner Truth Multicultural Arts Museum
State Indian Museum
Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park
Wells Fargo History Museum (Capitol Mall)
Wells Fargo History Museum (Old Sacramento)
Museums offering half-price admission:
Sacramento Zoo
Fairytale Town
Here are some Frequently Asked Questions from past years:
Q: Will I need a ticket to get in to Sacramento Museum Day?
A: No, simply show up at participating museums between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and you will be admitted for free. Please be advised that some museums may experience overcrowding this day, and there may be a wait. See Event Hours and Helpful Tips for additional information and suggestions regarding how to avoid the crowds.
Q: What are the event hours?
A: Participating museums will admit guests from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during Sacramento Museum Day, with all museums closing at 5 p.m.
Q: Where is a good place to start the day?
A: If you plan on visiting several museums this day, the event’s promoters suggest beginning at the California Museum for History, Women & the Arts, where you can climb aboard one of the Free Shuttle Buses that will take you to all but a very few of the participating museums this day. Or, at this same location you can climb aboard Sacramento Regional Transit’s new light rail line to Folsom (where you can visit the Folsom History Museum for free during Sacramento Museum Day – regular RT fares apply)! If you plan to visit just one or two museums in close proximity, we suggest getting started early in the morning so you can find parking, and leave early (early afternoon is the busiest time; traffic congestion is common around Old Sacramento and the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town).
Q: Where should I park my car?
A: See Downtown Parking Map for some ideas. In general we suggest that you NOT try to park anywhere in the vicinity of the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town this day (the Land Park area gets very, very crowded if the weather is nice), and the same thing applies for parking in Old Sacramento, which will be packed with automobiles, rain or shine. Two parking lots in the vicinity of The California Museum will be open free of charge this day, and free Museum Day Shuttle Buses operating on five different routes begin and end their trips at this location, so you may transfer between routes. Finally, consider not driving at all—but rather, taking Light Rail (regular RT fares apply) to the Archives Plaza station, right at The California Museum. Or, continue on light rail to the Sacramento Valley Station, just a short walk from Old Sacramento and its many museums!
Q: What museums do you recommend for children?
A: We recommend that you think about the ages and interests of your children, then take a look through the Participating Museums section to see what strikes a familiar chord. Some favorites for children are Discovery Museum Science and Space Center, Fairytale Town, the California State Railroad Museum, Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park, and the Sacramento History Museum, but there are so many museums and activities to choose from that we suggest you put together a list that suits your family’s specific interests.
Written by Keilah Woodard
My love for exploring and creating experiences with my three kids led to the founding of SacramentoSidetracks.com in 2009. I realized that Sacramento has so much to offer and I was excited to share my findings with other parents. Besides simply having fun, these are the other positive side effects of taking my kids on outings that I’ve discovered: we have quality time together away from the distractions at home, we cultivate our curiosity, learn new things, conversations are triggered by what we see and do, we connect and bond as a family, and we create new memories. Ready to get sidetracked, too? Let me be your guide!
