Smithsonian Magazine is providing free admission to selected museums during its ninth annual Museum Day Live! event on Saturday, Sept. 28.

“Museum Day Live! represents Smithsonian’s commitment to make learning and the spread of knowledge accessible to everyone,” Smithsonian Vice President of Advertising Sales and Marketing Media Stephen Giannetti said. “The event gives families an opportunity to experience museums that they otherwise might not try.”

More than 1,500 museums are participating nationwide, 16 of which are in San Diego county. All museums participating are either non-profit organizations or government-operated.

Anthropology professor Joseph Ball said students should take advantage of the free admission.

“This is a great little collection of some real museum gems in the greater San Diego area that the Smithsonian has identified,” Ball said. “Museums are like storehouses of real, seeable, touchable connections with peoples and places around us and from the local past that we mostly don’t know anything about and often don’t even know exist.”

Students gave their opinion on free admission to the selected San Diego museums.

“I think it’s a great thing,” media studies junior J.D. Hodges said. “I came from Washington D.C. where all the museums are free, pretty much nine out of 10 of them are free. It is a great encouragement for people to go.”

Although the event is coordinated by the Smithsonian, it doesn’t provide any of the participating museums with any funding.

“The museums choose to open their doors for free to those with a Museum Day Live! ticket because they believe in the value of providing a cultural and educational opportunity to everyone,” Giannetti said.

To participate in Museum Day Live!, prospective museumgoers can visit smithsonianmag.com/museumday and download two tickets per household.  The tickets will not cover parking or any other additional costs such as food or access to special exhibits.

The museums cooperating with the Smithsonian Magazine for Museum Day Live! in the San Diego county are:

• California Surf Museum
• Mingei International Museum
• San Diego Air & Space Museum
• Museum of Making Music
• Escondido History Center
• San Diego Archaeological Center
• Oceanside Museum of Art
• Marston House Museum
• San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
• San Diego History Center
• The Adobe Chapel Museum
• Creation & Earth History Museum
• The Warner-Carillo Ranch House Museum
• Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
• San Diego Automotive Museum
• PennyPickles Workshop

Photo by: Monica Linzmeier, Photo Editor