TBH, I’m always stumped when people ask me what my “hobbies” are.
Like… I’m an adult??? I don’t have hobbies???
My jobs are so amazing, they can sometimes feel like hobbies (paranormal, true crime, arts and crafts, these are hobbies!). And then I’m like, “What do I do outside of work that counts as a hobby?” and all I can think of is like, watching TV? Eating food? Doing my laundry? I seriously idk.
I think I really only have one true hobby, which is this:
HUNTING DOWN FREE MUSEUMS.
If you’re a New Yorker, there are a few free museums you can visit any time. Well, they’re not exactly free, they’re free*. They’re “suggested donation” museums, which is basically free. If you live in the city, the big two museums are always suggested donation for you:
- American Museum of Natural History: suggested donation
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Met Breuer, The Met Cloisters: suggested donation for NYC dwellers
And let’s not forget my favorite museum in the whole city!
- MoMA PS1: free admission with a NYC identification (Driver’s License or NYC ID)
Very cool, but quite easy, to be honest. I mean, great that they’re free, but where’s the sport? Hunting free museums gets complicated when you take into account that some museums can be free, some of the time, if you know when to visit, like:
- MoMA UNIQLO Free Friday Nights: free admission from 4:00-8:00pm
- Brooklyn Museum Target First Saturdays: free admission & programs from 5-11pm on the first Saturday of the month
- The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: “pay what you wish” on Saturdays from 5-7:45pm
- Museum of the Moving Image: free on Fridays 4-8pm
- The Whitney Museum of American Art: “pay what you wish” on Fridays from 7-9:30pm
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden: free 8am-noon March-November, free “Winter Weekdays” Tuesday-Friday, December-February
- The Frick Collection: free First Fridays, “pay what your wish” Wednesdays 2-6pm
- Cooper Hewitt: “pay what you wish” Saturdays from 6-9pm
These are all museums I’ve either been to, or are on my list of museums I’m itching to visit! There’s a more complete list here to sift through if you’re desperate for new ideas of places to go!
But what if you’re impatient, and can’t just wait for a free day to visit one of these museums? Also, what if you work Fridays/Saturdays at night, and your chances of visiting during the most popular “free” hours are slim to nil? I feel your pain. LUCKILY! You can now reserve free passes to local museums using your library card! It’s called Culture Pass, and you can learn more about it by clicking! I just learned about this last night, and I haven’t actually tried it yet, so I’m not clear on how easy it is, but I’m oozing with excitement at how easy this seems!
Happy Hunting!
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