Free and Low Cost Museums in NYC

New York City is expensive. It is definitely not an understatement and since moving here I have been trying to find better ways to see and do things in the city.

One of my favorites is all the free activities to do in the city. Even some of them are museums that are either free or “pay as you wish”. Often though the pay as you wish requires you to pay “something” even as low as a dollar.

I started creating this list both for myself and for friends and because a lot of information I found online was either wrong or out of date. If you see anything that needs corrections please do let me know!

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Everyday

• American Folk Art Museum
• American Museum of Natural History [Suggested Donation]
• Brooklyn Museum [Suggested Donation]
• Bronx Museum of the Arts
• El Museo del Barrio [Suggested Donation]
• MoMa PS1 [Suggested Donation]
• Staten Island Museum [Suggested Donation]
• Queen’s Museum [Suggested Donation]
• Museum at FIT
• National Museum of the American Indian
• The Hispanic Museum {closed for renovations}
• Snug Harbor Cultural Center {main campus}

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Mondays

• Museum at Eldridge Street [pay as you wish]

Tuesdays

• Wave Hill (9am – 12pm)
• 9/11 Memorial Museum (5pm – close)

Wednesdays

• Bronx Zoo [pay as you wish]
• Frick Collection [pay as you wish] (2pm – 6pm)
• Museum of Jewish Heritage [4pm – 8pm]
• NY Aquarium  [pay as you wish] (3pm – close)
• NY Botanical Gardens
• Queens Botanical Gardens (3pm – 6pm)
• Van Cortlandt House Museum

Thursdays

• Brooklyn Children’s Museum [pay as you wish] (2pm – 6pm)
• New Museum [pay as you wish] (7pm – 9pm)
• Museum of Arts and Design [pay as you wish] (6pm – 9pm)
• Museum of Jewish Heritage [4pm – 8pm]
• International Center of Photography Museum [pay as you wish] (6pm – close)

Fridays

• Asia Society Museum (6pm – 9pm)
• Japan Society (6pm – 9pm)
• Museum of the Modern Art (4pm-close)
• Museum of the Moving Image (4pm – 8pm)
• Whitney Museum [pay as you wish] (7pm – 9:30)
• Brooklyn Botanical Garden (8am – 12pm) *March – Nov*
• NY Hall of Science (2pm– 5pm)
• Rubin Museum (6pm – 10pm)
• The Morgan Library and Museum (7pm – 9pm)

Saturdays

• Cooper Hewitt Design Museum (6pm – 9pm)
• NY Botanical Gardens (9 – 10am)
• Guggenhiem Museum [pay as you wish] (5-7:45pm)
• Wave Hill (9am – 12pm)
• The Jewish Museum

Sunday

• Brooklyn Children’s Museum [pay as you wish] (4pm – 7pm)
• NY Hall of Science (10am – 11am)
• Queens Botanical Gardens (9am – 11am) *Except festival days

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Other Free Days

• Frick Collection [First Friday]
• Neue Galerie [First Friday]
• Noguchi Museum [First Friday]
• Museum of Chinese in America [First Thursday]

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New York Residents

Some museums have pay as you wish or are free for residents of New York. This includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art System (Met, Cloisters, Breuer)

• Children’s Museum of Manhattan {free with Culture Pass}
• Metropolitan Museum of Art [pay as you wish]
• Met Cloisters [pay as you wish]
• Met Breuer [pay as you wish]
• Museum of the City of New York [residents of 10029, 10035, or 10037]
• MoMa PS1

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This Information is provided as-is without warranty. I’ve done my best to keep it up to date and provide this as a guideline. Admission is subject to the museums themselves and I have no affiliation with any of them.