Free & Cheap Admission to Museums & Attractions

It’s almost the first full weekend of the month, which means it’s time to be on the lookout for free & cheap admission to museums & attractions.

Here are five tips to get you started:

• If there’s a particular attraction you want to visit, check its website’s ticketing page or give them a quick call to find out details about any free admission days. Most museums & cultural attractions will offer a free day for the community–some do it on the first weekend of the month, others do it one weekend per year.
• Thanks to Target’s Arts + Culture program, you’ll find mix of free & cheap deals for museums & cultural attractions across the U.S. To find deals near you, select your city in the drop-down menu on Target’s Arts + Culture site.
• If you show your Bank of America card, you’ll get free admission at participating museums & cultural attractions on the first full weekend of the month. The free admission offer is valid the cardholder only.
• Last chance: Thanks to the Blue Star Museums program, valid at more than 1,500 museums in the U.S., American Samoa, + Puerto Rico, active-duty military (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard), National Guard and Reserve members and up to five immediate family members can get free admission from Memorial Day, May 28, through Labor Day, September 3, 2012.
• Mark your calendar: On Saturday, September 29, 2012, you can get free admission to hundreds of museums across the U.S., thanks to Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day Live! program. To get in free, you’ll need tofill out a form online & print out the admission card. Per the fine print, the card must be presented for admission, and it’s good for free general admission for two people. Limit one card per household. FYI–Some of the participating museums on the list are always free, so make sure to use your pass somewhere that typically charges for admission.

–Jennifer Maciejewski, Atlanta on the Cheap & RVA (Richmond) on the Cheap