Free Museum Days in Chicago

Adult tickets at Chicago's big museums now run $25 to $55, so a free day is worth real money. Most of the big museums still offer them, but nearly all of those free days are for Illinois residents only, and the museums set new dates every year. This page explains how each one handles it and links to the page where the current dates live. If you're visiting from another state, skip down to the options that don't care where you live.

How resident free days work

You'll need proof that you live in Illinois, and an Illinois driver's license or state ID is the simplest. The Adler, for one, also takes a photo ID plus a utility bill or lease with your Illinois address. Online, you usually type your zip code as a promo code or pick a resident ticket type, then show the proof at the door.

Reserve ahead. The Field and the Shedd both urge you to book free tickets online in advance, and walk-up tickets depend on what's left. The free ticket covers general admission only. Dome shows, 3D films, tours and special exhibitions still cost extra, and some museums charge a small booking fee even for free tickets.

The free dates cluster in the slow months, when tourists are scarce. January and February are the richest stretch, followed by September and October. If you live here, that's the time to go, and expect the free days to be busier than a normal weekday.

The big museums, one by one

Field Museum

The easiest one to plan around. The Field is free for Illinois residents every Wednesday, all year. Book online in advance if you can, since walk-up tickets depend on what's left. Chicago residents pay $21 on other days instead of the $30 visitor price.

Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute gives Illinois residents free entry on Thursday evenings from 5 to 8pm, on the third Thursday of the month for much of the year and every Thursday in summer. Tickets can be reserved online, and the museum checks residency from the billing zip code. Some people are free every day, including all kids under 14, Chicago teens under 18, and Link and WIC cardholders. See the free admission page for this year's schedule.

Griffin Museum of Science and Industry

The museum formerly known as the Museum of Science and Industry hands out lots of free days, mostly in batches through winter and fall with a few scattered in between. Its Illinois Free Days list runs a couple of months ahead. Free days cover general admission only. The Coal Mine tour ($12 adults, $9 kids) and the U-505 on-board tour ($18 and $14) are still charged, and those are the best things in the building. Read how to get to the MSI before you head to Hyde Park.

Shedd Aquarium

In recent years the Shedd has given Illinois residents free days through January and February, then free Tuesday evenings from 5 to 9pm through spring and summer. Dates are on its discounts and free hours page. Online reservations cost $5 per order. Calling 312-939-2438 costs nothing, per Chicago Parent.

Adler Planetarium

The Adler calls them Illinois Resident Discount Days, and there are about 52 of them a year, free for museum entry. They're posted a few months at a time on the tickets page. Use your zip code as the promo code. The dome shows aren't included, and they're the reason to go, so budget for one.

Chicago History Museum

The Chicago History Museum in Lincoln Park has fewer free days, often tied to holidays such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day and the Fourth of July. They're listed under the admission prices on its visit page. Illinois residents 18 and under are always free, and so are all kids 12 and under.

Museum of Contemporary Art

The MCA is free for Illinois residents every Tuesday from 5 to 9pm, when it's open late anyway. Anyone 18 and under is free every day, and the museum has a pay-what-you-can policy for anyone who can't afford the $22 ticket.

Obama Presidential Center

The museum at the Obama Presidential Center (6001 S. Stony Island Ave.) is free for Illinois residents every Tuesday. Tickets must be booked online and are subject to availability. On other days adults pay $30, or $26 with Illinois ID. The campus grounds are free to walk around any day.

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

The Nature Museum in Lincoln Park runs its Illinois resident free days in blocks of several days at a time, with a long run in September and October. It asks for a $10 suggested household donation. The Judy Istock Butterfly Haven isn't included, but you can add it for $5 a person, and it's the best part.

DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center

The DuSable in Washington Park, a Smithsonian affiliate, has offered free admission on Wednesdays, according to Choose Chicago. Confirm with the museum before you go. It's open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.

The Chicago Children's Museum

The Children's Museum at Navy Pier used to be free on the first Sunday of the month. Its tickets page no longer lists resident free days. Admission is $21 for Illinois residents and $25 for everyone else, and families with Link or WIC cards pay $5 a person.

Free days for everyone

The International Museum of Surgical Science (1524 N. Lake Shore Dr.), in a Gold Coast mansion full of old surgical tools, doesn't ask where you live. Its 2026 schedule made it free every Tuesday in January, February and December, plus one Tuesday evening a month from March through November, from 5 to 8pm. Check its site for the current pattern.

Bank of America Museums on Us

If you have a Bank of America, Merrill or Bank of America Private Bank credit or debit card, you get free general admission at participating museums on the first full weekend of every month. It works for out-of-state visitors too. Show the card and a photo ID at the door, and you don't need to book. The free entry covers the cardholder only, not guests, and it doesn't include special exhibitions or ticketed shows. Chicago-area venues have included the Art Institute, the Adler, the Griffin MSI, the MCA, the Morton Arboretum and the Illinois Holocaust Museum, per Chicago Parent, but the list can change, so check Bank of America's Museums on Us locator first.

Museums for All

Families with a Link (EBT) or WIC card get steep discounts almost everywhere, on any day, through the national Museums for All program. It's $1 a person for up to six at the Adler, $3 a person for up to six at the Field and the MCA, and $1 at the Nature Museum. You usually have to show the card at the box office rather than buying online.

Always free

Lincoln Park Zoo (2400 N. Cannon Dr.) is free every day of the year, no reservation needed, and the grounds open at 8am.

The National Museum of Mexican Art (1852 W. 19th St.) in Pilsen is always free. It's open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm, and until 8pm on the first Wednesday of the month.

In Hyde Park, the University of Chicago's Smart Museum of Art is free and closed Mondays. In the South Loop, the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College is free and a short walk from the Art Institute.

For more on the paid museums, see our guide to Chicago's museums. If you're not an Illinois resident and want the big ones, our CityPASS vs. Go City comparison shows when a pass beats paying at the door, and free and cheap things to do in Chicago covers the rest.

Photo by kern.justin