NEW YORK (PIX11) -- With the summer in full swing and the weather getting hotter by the day some may be looking for refreshing things to do indoors.
While the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History are popular in part for their pay-what-you-wish admission, a number of art and culture institutions across New York City offer similar promotions.
Here’s a list of museums that are currently offering pay-what-you-wish admission as well as free days or hours:
The Whitney Museum
- Free Friday nights from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.
- Free second Sundays of the month
- Reserve tickets in advance: for Fridays and Second Sundays
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
- Free every Thursday from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
- Reserve tickets in advance here
Guggenheim Museum
- Pay-what-you-wish admission every Monday and Saturday from 4 p.m – 5:30 p.m.
- Minimum donation of $1
- Reserve tickets in advance here
International Center of Photography
- Pay-by-donation on Thursdays from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
- Minimum donation of $5
Jewish Museum
- Free admission on Saturdays
- Free on select Jewish holidays listed here
- Reserve tickets in advance here
Morgan Library and Museum
- Free on Fridays from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
- Tickets are available one week in advance here
- Free for college students every first Sunday of the month
- Tickets are available one month in advance here
Museum of Chinese in America
- Free public tour Wednesdays and Fridays at 11:30 a.m.
- Only available for the exhibition With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America
- Tours meet in the museum lobby
Museum of Jewish Heritage
- Free Thursdays from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
- Reserve tickets in advance here
Museum of Modern Art
- Free for New York City residents every first Friday of the month from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
- Advance tickets are made available here
Museum of the Moving Image
- Free every Thursday from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
- No reservations required
New York Historical Society
- Pay-as-you-wish admission every Friday from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
- Reserve tickets in advance here
Noguchi Museum
- Free every first Friday of the month with extended hours until September
- Tickets are released two weeks before each date at noon
- Reserve tickets in advance here
- Also free for a number of company employees and school students as listed here
Intrepid Museum
- Free every last Friday of the month through August from 5 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
- Free movie programming are also available these days starting at 9 p.m.
- No tickets necessary but space is available by first-come, first-served basis
- Movie screening schedule listed here
Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here.
