A New York Library Card Will Now Let You Go to These 33 Museums for Free

Culture Pass New York City Museums New York Public Library Card

If you live in New York City, you'll be happy to know that your library card can now get you into some of the city's most celebrated museums—for free. Thanks to Culture Pass, a new initiative launched by three New York City libraries, residents can enjoy 33 of its most popular cultural institutions without purchasing tickets.

So, how does it work? By simply logging onto the Culture Pass website, Brooklyn Public Library, Queens Public Library, and New York Public Library cardholders are able to use their credentials to score reservations to a collection of cultural sites. In addition to major museums like the Brooklyn Museum, MoMA, the Met, and the Guggenheim, Culture Pass users can visit public gardens, historical houses, and heritage centers across the city.

Of course, like any program, Culture Pass has its stipulations. Cardholders must be over the age of 13 and live in New York State or work or study in New York City to be eligible. Additionally, participants can only have two active reservations per library card and are granted one pass per institution annually. So, if you reserve a pass but can't make the booking, you won't be able to obtain a pass to that location until the following year. Our advice: choose wisely!

If you are interested in this initiative but don't have a card from the Brooklyn Public Library, Queens Public Library, or New York Public Library, you can apply for one on their respective websites.

Have a New York public library card and ready to book a visit? These 33 New York City museums are participating in the exciting new Culture Pass program:

  • Brooklyn Botanic Garden
  • Brooklyn Children's Museum
  • Brooklyn Historical Society
  • Brooklyn Museum
  • Children's Museum of Manhattan
  • Children's Museum of the Arts
  • Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • The Drawing Center
  • The Frick Collection
  • Historic Richmond Town
  • International Center of Photography
  • Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
  • Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art
  • The Jewish Museum
  • Louis Armstrong House
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • The Morgan Library & Museum
  • Museum of Modern Art, MoMA PS1
  • Museum of Chinese in America
  • Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
  • Museum of the City of New York
  • New York Transit Museum
  • Noguchi Museum
  • Queens Historical Society
  • Queens Museum
  • Rubin Museum of Art
  • SculptureCenter
  • Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian
  • Society of Illustrators
  • Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
  • Sugar Hill Children's Museum
  • Wave Hill
  • Whitney Museum of American Art

All images via the New York Public Library.

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Kelly Richman-Abdou

Kelly Richman-Abdou is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met. An art historian living in Paris, Kelly was born and raised in San Francisco and holds a BA in Art History from the University of San Francisco and an MA in Art and Museum Studies from Georgetown University. When she’s not writing, you can find Kelly wandering around Paris, whether she’s leading a tour (as a guide, she has been interviewed by BBC World News America and France 24) or simply taking a stroll with her husband and two tiny daughters.
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