The price of admission is one barrier to participating in arts and culture, but many Northeast Ohio organizations offer opportunities to attend for free. Even more provide free or significantly discounted admission to people who qualify for SNAP food assistance through Museums for All, a national program designed to promote increased access to all types of museums and cultural sites.
Research shows that when people visit these venues – particularly young people – they have positive experiences that contribute to their overall wellbeing.
Below is a listing of arts and cultural organizations in Northeast Ohio offering free or significantly reduced admission.
Places to visit in Cuyahoga County
Museums for All admission is $1 for the Cleveland Botanical Garden in University Circle as well as Holden Arboretum in Kirtland.
Museums for All access is $3.
Admission is free for active military.
Residents of Cuyahoga County and Hinckley Township are free on Mondays, with the exceptions of Memorial Day, Labor Day and Independence Day, if it falls on Monday.
Entrance is free to everyone. Some events and exhibits are ticketed.
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Museums for All access is $1 for up to four people.
Admission is free for residents of Cleveland, East Cleveland, Brooklyn, Euclid, Garfield Heights, Maple Heights and Warrensville Heights on Saturdays and Sundays as part of the program Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Community Days.
Children’s Museum of Cleveland
Museums for All admission is $2 for up to four people.
The museum provides FREE Access Family Membership to Cleveland residents of the Central, AsiaTown and Midtown neighborhoods. Throughout the year the museum also periodically offers free memberships at community events.
SNAP recipients are eligible for $5 admission for up to eight people with proof of an Ohio Direction Card and state ID.
All tickets are “Choose What You Pay.”
Pay-what-you-can tickets are available an hour before all performances.
First Sunday and regular Thursday performances for the theater’s productions are also pay-what-you-can performances.
Ohio teachers attend free every day. Bank of America cardholders get one regular admission free the first weekend of the month. NASA employees and immediate family members also receive regular free admission. Special exhibits are not included.
Museums for All admission is free.
Admission is also free on Christmas and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
moCa (Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland)
Admission is free for all Ohio residents as well as youth 18 years old and under.
Museums for All access is $1 a visitor for up to six people.
Admission is free for Cleveland residents with proof of residency.
Places to visit in Lorain, Portage, Stark and Trumbull counties
Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College
Admission is free to all.
Museums for All access is free.
Admission is free for children 12 and under as well as active military and families. Everyone attends free on Thursdays and the first Fridays of the month.
Sunday admission is free for all. Kids under five attend free as well as Kent State students, faculty and staff.
Admission is free to all.
McKinley Presidential Library & Museum
Museums for All admission is $3 for adults and kids are free.
Museums for All admission is $1.
Children under age 7 attend free.
Places to visit in Summit County
Museums for All admission is $3 for up to four people.
The zoo offers free admission on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day and Election Day. The zoo also offers free days for Summit County residents in September in recognition of tax levy support.
Additionally, the zoo hosts annual Inclusion Days, a program that raises awareness about developmental disabilities in partnership with Summit County Developmental Disabilities Board. Visitors who wear orange clothing enter for free on designated days.
Museums for All admission is $3 for adults for up to four people.
Admission is free on Thursdays and every day for active military and family. Admission for youth 17 and under is free, and University of Akron staff and students attend for free.
Museums for All entrance is $2 for up to four people.
Museums for All access is $3.
Admission is free for active military.
Museums for All admission is $3 for up to four people.
