A general tip for visiting museums on the cheap:
Most library Friends groups, including the Friends of the Worcester Public Library, offer museum passes that offer free or reduced price admission to many area museums.
Free in the greater Worcester area:
- The Worcester Art Museum is free the first Saturday morning of the month. It’s also free during July and August.
- The Fitchburg Art Museum is free the first Thursday of the month.
- Once a year, the Higgins Armory is free on Founder’s Day.
- The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at Holy Cross is always free to the public.
- ArtsWorcester’s Aurora Gallery.
- The Aldrich Astronomical Society offers free programs throughout the year, including their annual Starfest event.
Farther afield:
- Every summer, the Highland Street Foundation sponsors Free Fun Fridays, which offer free admission to museums and other cultural venues.
- The Discovery Museums in Acton are free the First Friday evening of the month. They are also free every Friday evening in the summer.
- The Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College is always free.
- The American Textile History Museum in Lowell has free Super Saturdays four times a year, with interesting programming and free admission.
- The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown is free November 1 – May 31.
- The Museum of Fine Arts Boston is free Wednesday evenings after 4pm.
- The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln is free the first Wednesday of every month.
- The Coit Observatory at Boston University holds free public open nights most Wednesdays through the year.
- The ICA Boston is free from 5 to 9 pm every Thursday. It’s also free for families (up to 2 adults accompanied by children 12 + under) on the last Saturday of each month, with the exception of December.
- The Boston Children’s Museum has $1 admission every Friday night (sponsored by Target).
- The Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton is free every Thursday night.
- The MIT Museum in Cambridge is free the second Friday of each month from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
- The Harvard Art Museums in Cambridge are free on Saturday mornings to Massachusetts residents.
- The Harvard Museum of Natural History and Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Cambridge are free every Sunday morning (year-round) from 9:00 am to noon and on Wednesdays from 3:00 to 5:00 pm (September through May) to Massachusetts residents.
