Five Harvard museums free for Smithsonian National Museum Day Sept. 29

On Saturday, Sept. 29, five Harvard University museums —the Harvard Art Museums, Harvard Museum of Natural History , Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, Semitic Museum, and the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments — will open their doors free of charge along with 1,400 other participating museums nationwide during the eighth annual Museum Day Live!

The Harvard museums are emulating the free admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, D.C.-based facilities, which encourage learning and the spread of knowledge nationwide, and are partnering together to extend the offer.  Visitors who download tickets at Smithsonian.com/museumday are asked to select one participating museum for free admission. Museum Day Live! ticket holders who sign up for any one Harvard museum will gain free entry to all participating Harvard museums that day.

“Harvard’s world-renowned museums are unique assets to Cambridge and the greater Boston area, offering exhibitions, programs and lectures that are open to the public year-round,” said Christine Heenan, vice president for Harvard Public Affairs & Communications. “We are pleased to be part of a nationwide effort to make cultural education accessible to everyone and invite museum-goers to experience the breadth and depth of our museum collections.”  

Harvard’s museums are all within walking distance of each other at the north end of Harvard’s Cambridge campus. Open to the public, they are invaluable archives that extend the University’s teaching mission. See a full listing of Harvard museums and collections.