It’s hot outside, and we’re all looking for interesting things to do inside, in the air conditioning. This week provides a great opportunity to visit museums in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The first weekend of the month brings a variety of regular museum free days.
Plus, local museums also have a number of special program this week, some for adults, some for children and some for everyone. And don’t forget the museums in South Florida that are always free.
Bank of America’s Museums on Us program offers free entry the first weekend of every month to anyone with a Bank of America credit or debit card. In South Florida, that program includes:
Miami-Dade County
- Miami Children’s Museum
- Perez Art Museum Miami
- The Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach
- Coral Gables Museum
- HistoryMiami Museum
- Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (MOCA)
Broward County
- NSU Art Museum, Fort Lauderdale
- Fort Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science
Palm Beach County
- South Florida Science Center and Aquarium in West Palm Beach
- Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach
- The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach
Florida Keys
- History of Diving Museum in Islamorada
Free museum days and events
This week also brings regular free days or special events for the Gold Coast Railroad Museum, The Wolfsonian, the Coral Gables Art Museum, the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, the Boca History Museum, the Jewish Museum of Florida in Miami Beach and The Norton in West Palm Beach.
Other options for free or discount entry
If you bought the South Florida Adventure Pass, you can unlimited free entry to the Museum of Science & Discovery in Fort Lauderdale, plus three outdoor attractions.
The Summer Savings Pass offers unlimited entry to the Cox Science Center & Aquarium in West Palm Beach, plus three outdoor attractions.
If you have a SNAP card, you can get free or discounted admission to a number of South Florida museums all the time.
Miami-Dade residents also can check out free passes to museums and attractions through the Miami-Dade Public Library. Students 13 to 22 (and an adult) can get $5 passes for entry to many museums and attractions through Culture Shock Miami.
Residents and visitors in Palm Beach County can get discount coupons with the Palm Beaches Savings Pass.
And, of course, we have some museums and attractions that are always free, including:
Miami-Dade Free Museums
- Historic Homestead Town Hall Museum. Admission is always free.
- Institute of Contemporary Art. Admission is always free. FREE private guided tours for groups of 10 or more with advance notice of two weeks.
- The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum. This museum located at Florida International University’s Modesto Maidique campus is always free. There are curator tours every third Tuesday of the month at noon.
- The Wolfsonian (for Florida residents)
Broward Free Museums
- Old Dillard Museum, 1009 NW 4th Street, Fort Lauderdale 33311, 754-322-8828.
- Coral Springs Museum of Art, 2855 Coral Springs Drive, Coral Springs 33065, 954-340-5000
- Stonewall National Museum, 1300 E. Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, 954-763-8565
- Plantation Historical Museum

Courtesy, gumbolimbo.org
Palm Beach County Free Museums and Centers
- Loggerhead Marine Life Center
- Historical Society Museum of Palm Beach County
- Sugar Sand Park Children’s Science Explorium
- Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton

Photo/The Norton
Here is a schedule of free museum days and events this week
This list also includes some outdoor events and attractions.