Visit These 7 Bay Area Museums For Free On Museum Day 2022

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA — From the space program to maritime artifacts to local history, gather your family and friends this weekend to learn something with free admission at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, the San Jose Museum of Art and several others inthe Bay Area.

Smithsonian Magazine’s 18th annual Museum Day will take place Sept. 17 at select museums in here and in other cities across the country.

This year’s theme, “Experience America,” celebrates “the return to, and resurgence of, our country's diverse cultural experiences,” following closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a news release.

The following museums in the Bay Area are participating in this year’s Museum Day:

Cartoon Art Museum, San Francisco
Hours: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Get Ticket

Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco
Hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Get Ticket

San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose
Hours: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Get Ticket

New Museum Los Gatos, Los Gatos
Hours: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Get Ticket

Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek
Hours: 12p.m. - 5 p.m.
Get Ticket

di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art
Hours: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Get Ticket

Museum of Sonoma County, Santa Rosa
Hours: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Get Ticket

The purpose of Museum Day, according to a release, is to promote equal access to the wide array of museums in the United States, especially among children and underrepresented communities.

Museum-goers can head to the Museum Day website to download their ticket. Each ticket grants the ticket holder and one guest free, timed access to any participating museum. One ticket is permitted per email address; each ticket admits two people to a venue on Saturday.

See the full list of participating museums at SmithsonianMag.com.