On Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day – which happens this year on September 24th – you can get FREE admission to any of over a thousand participating venues. No, not just the Smithsonian in D.C., we’re talking museums all over the country! I clicked the ‘find a museum’ button on the offer page, and found a whole nation of thumbtacked locations, and a handy feature that lets you search by state.

Why, I found over a dozen in just the San Francisco area alone – so there’s sure to be a location near you! Maybe it’s someplace you’ve driven past a hundred times, and you’ve always wanted to check it out. Maybe it’s something you’ve never heard of, and this will be a golden opportunity to explore your hometown a little!

There are a few limitations, of course, but they’re not bad. Each ticket is good for you and a guest (making this a fun idea for a date, maybe, or some parent/child educational bonding time) and you can only use one ticket per household. A ticket can only be obtained from the Museum Day website (we provide a handy link, so that’s no sweat) and it can only be used once. So no venue-hopping, sorry. That’s not as big a limitation as you’d think, though; in my experience a good museum takes at least a whole day to take it all in.

So there you have it. Get your free Museum Day ticket now, and start making plans for your day out! I think my sweetheart and I will be visiting the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry that day, thanks to the generous folks at Smithsonian Magazine. If you’re in the area, keep an eye out, and maybe say hi!