Booth, History Museum Offer Free Admission Saturday

will participate Saturday in the seventh-annual Museum Day, as will Bartow History Museum, according to .  

Both will join participating museums and cultural institutions nationwide to open their doors free of charge to all visitors who download the Museum Day Ticket from Smithsonian.com. Museum Day is a celebration of the dissemination of knowledge to anyone and everyone interested, without a price tag, emulating the free admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington D.C.-based facilities.

With support from , Museum Day 2011 is poised to be the largest to date, outdoing last year’s record-breaking event. In 2010, museum goers downloaded 227,747 tickets resulting in more than 500,000 museum-goers visiting over 1,300 venues in all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.

“We are excited to participate in Museum Day and give people the opportunity to view the largest permanent exhibition space for Western art in the country free of charge,” said Booth Museum Executive Director Seth Hopkins. “Visitors that day will also be able to view three, brand new exhibits at the Booth, one of which—Western American Art South of the Sweet Tea Line III—opens on Museum Day.”

As the third offering in the Booth’s signature triennial exhibition series, Western American Art South of the Sweet Tea Line III features seldom seen great works of art from public and private southern collections. Included are more than 90 paintings and sculpture in a range of media and styles covering more than 150 years of art history. Other newly opened exhibits visitors may enjoy on Saturday are and the .

The Museum Day Ticket is available to download here. A list of participating museums is available here. Visitors who present the official pass will gain free admission for two people to participating museums and cultural venues. One ticket is permitted per household, per email address.  

For more information about Smithsonian magazine Museum Day 2011 and links to participating museums’ and supporters’ sites, please visit Smithsonian.com/museumday.   

In addition to its permanent exhibits—A Sense of Place, Bartow Beginnings, Community Champions, People at Work, The Coming War and Toward New Horizons— offers its temporary exhibit, , according to the newspaper.