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Local Museum Free Days
updated: Jan 18, 2013, 9:38 AM

By Edhat Subscriber

I am trying to compile a list of local museums which have free admittance during certain days of the month. Input is appreciated.

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 364826	2013-01-18 10:11 AM
How about posting what you have?
COMMENT 364847	2013-01-18 10:49 AM
I believe Museum of Art on 1st Thursday. Maritime Museum on 3rd Thursday.
COMMENT 364861	2013-01-18 11:03 AM
nat hist has free backyard days for kids
COMMENT 364866	2013-01-18 11:13 AM
Museum of Art every sunday is free. Full Museum. The 1st Thursday event is only open in certain areas.
COMMENT 364868P	2013-01-18 11:18 AM
Museum of Art has changed from every Sunday being free as I vaguely recall, because regular paying tourists were enjoying the benefit for free. Sorry do not know which day is free now.
COMMENT 364874	2013-01-18 11:25 AM
try contacting museums maybe they know
COMMENT 364875P	2013-01-18 11:27 AM
The information you're seeking can be found at the museums' Web sites.
COMMENT 364883P	2013-01-18 11:36 AM
OP is requesting readers to help compile such information. It could be the OP doesn't even know the names of all the museums in town. Edhat is a community for info, often to save time in collecting information.
COMMENT 364893P	2013-01-18 11:49 AM
It would be a useful reference to have in one place all the local museums' free days. Only one I know is SB Museum of Art free Thursday evenings.
COMMENT 364897	2013-01-18 11:58 AM
The SB Zoo is free every the 3rd Wed of every month Ty Warner Sea Museum is free every Th Speriment Rhino is free every Friday between 3am - 5am Zodos has free bowling on Sundays between 6am - 8am SB Maritime Museum is free if you purchase a dinner at Brophies Kids World is free all the time Natutal History Museum is free last Sunday of every month Santa Barbara Mission tour is free if you can scale the wall
COMMENT 364904P	2013-01-18 12:24 PM
897 thank you. Love the touch of humor too, or is that serious about the SR? Will keep this list for reference.
COMMENT 364910	2013-01-18 12:39 PM
The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art is always free and open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. It is closed Sundays and college holidays. For more information, please visit www.westmontmuseum.org or contact the museum at (805) 565-6162. “Dreamkeepers: Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Art" is open today and tomorrow ... and then gives way to “Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot: The Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree Collection in the Context” from Jan. 31-March 23.
COMMENT 364924P	2013-01-18 01:14 PM
To the OP: When you have your confirmed list of "free days" for the museums would you please post it on Edhat. Tnx.
COMMENT 364925	2013-01-18 01:16 PM
The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is free to the public on every third thursday of the month. We do not have a special deal with Brophy Brothers that you can get in free if you have dinner there. However we do have 2 for the price of one vouchers at various businesses around the Harbor.
COMMENT 364928	2013-01-18 01:37 PM
UCSB Art Museum is always free. SB Historical Museum is free (donations appreciated) I believe the Carriage and Western Art Museum is free too.
COMMENT 364938P	2013-01-18 02:05 PM
Yes, I hope the OP does post the CORRECT info after it has been verified. The Santa Barbara Museum of Art no longer has free Sundays; it's now Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. I could not find any Web site reference to free days at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Perhaps I looked in the wrong place.
COMMENT 364941	2013-01-18 02:10 PM
897 - I just called the SB Zoo, and they told me that they don't have any free days.
COMMENT 364970P	2013-01-18 02:54 PM
It would be nice if the SB Mission had a reduced rate for students/elders or free admittance occasionally. Is it true the state in the last decade provided funds for retrofitting for earthquake of our lovely Mission?
COMMENT 364985P	2013-01-18 03:16 PM
It is true that the State or Feds recently provided a big grant for seismic retrofitting of the Mission. The Franciscans, however, need to squeeze as much money as possible out of visitors to pay all the hundreds of millions of dollars of court judgments outstanding against them in the pedofile cases.
COMMENT 365073	2013-01-18 06:01 PM
The Ty Warner Sea Center also doesn't have any free days. I called them and asked. Take what 897 posted with a grain of salt because much of it has been confirmed as incorrect.
COMMENT 365097	2013-01-18 07:24 PM
Ty Warner Sea Center doesn't have free days as of right now, but if you have a membership to the Natural History Museum admission is free. It is also free admission every day for children under 2 years old.
COMMENT 365125	2013-01-18 08:50 PM
Thanks 897, I haven't been to the NHM since they started charging. (decades)
COMMENT 365155P	2013-01-18 10:22 PM
The Historical Museum on the corner of De La Guerra and S.B. Streets is still free every day they're open. It is one of the best museums on the central coast and I hope they never start charging admission.
FLICKA	2013-01-19 08:45 AM
Carpinteria Valley Historical Museum is always free, open 1-4, Thur-Sat. with docents to give tours. Nice adobe building w/center courtyard (1st blk of Maple St). Market Day, last saturday every month from 8am-3pm, is great, lots of crafts, $1 hot dogs that are the best. "Granny's Attic" has donated goods to raise museum money (yardsale prices). Live music, and museum tours.
COMMENT 365238	2013-01-19 09:29 AM
Free admission with membership isn't "free" because you're paying for the membership, and that's one of the reasons you buy a membership to begin with. I think what we want to know is what places have free admission -without- a membership, for adults.
ESL TEACHER	2013-01-19 09:40 AM
Taken from the SBMA website: Santa Barbara County students (K – college) with current ID/proof of local residency free Santa Barbara County teachers (K – 12th grade) with current ID free Under 6 free Active U.S. military and their families with current ID free (Also free to everyone Thursday 5 - 8)
LONESTARCA	2013-01-19 09:56 AM
The Natural History Museum of Santa Barbara is free the third Sunday of every month during the school calendar year. Third Sunday is also Family Nature Day in the Backyard and Nature Club House, behind the Butterfly Pavilion.
COMMENT 365316P	2013-01-19 03:08 PM
The Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Solvang is free EVERY day and open 9am-5pm daily. The Elverhoj Musuem of History & Art in Solvang is open Wed-Sunday and admission is by donation ($3 suggested). Check out www.SolvangUSA.com for details on all the things to do in Solvang.
ELELLEN2	2013-01-19 09:10 PM
There is a great museum opened every day during the week for free and once a month on Sunday free and that is The Carriage Museum on 129 Castillo Street. It will be opened this Sunday( tomorrow) from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. It tells the tale of how Santa Barbara county went from a sleepy village and through the cattle era with wonderful wagons and stagecoaches along with carriages and a old western town called Stage Coach Juntion. There are saddles and spurs and al ot of things from the near by ranches so come on down as I will be the doecent tomorrow!
COMMENT 366273	2013-01-22 04:14 PM
The Santa Barbara Surfing Museum in the Funk Zone is open Sundays from 12-5 and other days by appointment, and has free admission. It's a fun little place with some neat SB and surfing history!

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