Every September in Austin, there’s one day when you can get into tons of museums totally free — many you probably haven’t been to before! Even better, on Austin Museum Day, most museums are hosting fun, family-friendly activities to make it that much more enjoyable.
It’s the perfect chance to check out museums you’ve been meaning to visit but haven’t made it to yet. Especially since it’s such a family-friendly day!
So what is Austin Museum Day and what do you need to know to make the most of it? Read on!
In This Post
What is Austin Museum Day?
Austin Museum Day is a day of free admission to many museums around town. 2025 is the 28th year of this fun tradition celebrating art, culture, history, music, nature and science. Every museum is different, but many have special activities and programming for the day, sometimes including things just for kids!
When is Austin Museum Day?
Austin Museum Day is held on the second to last Sunday in September. The 28th annual Austin Museum Day is Sunday, September 21, 2025.
Each museum has its own hours, so check individually on the Austin Museum Day website. Some are open 10 am to 5 pm and some have shorter hours.
What museums are participating?
There are so many places you can go on Museum Day! More than 30 museums are participating in 2025.
- Austin History Center
- Bastrop County Historical Society
- Blanton Museum of Art
- Briscoe Center for American History
- Brush Square Museums
- Bullock Texas State History Museum
- Capitol Visitors Center
- Chateau Bellevue
- Clarksville Community Development Corporation (Hezikiah Haskell House)
- The Contemporary Austin
- Dougherty Arts Center
- DRT Republic of Texas Museum
- Flower Hill
- The Harry Ransom Center
- Landmarks
- LBJ Presidential Library
- MathHappens Foundation at Bullock Museum
- Mexic-Arte Museum
- Millett’s Opera House
- Museo Benini
- Neill-Cochran House Museum
- Pioneer Farms
- Texas Medical Association
- Texas Science & Natural History Museum
- Texas State Capitol
- Texas State Cemetery
- Thinkery
- UMLAUF Sculpture Garden + Museum
- The Williamson Museum
- The Visual Art Center (VAC)
- Women & Their Work
How many museums can you go to?
You can go to as many participating museums as you like on Museum Day. Just make sure you check the hours of each one as you make your plan.
We have only visited two museums in one day with our kids, because there’s so much to see and often activities to do!
What are the most kid-friendly museums that are participating?
I haven’t been to all of the museums that are taking part in Museum Day, so I can’t speak to all of them from personal experience. And Museum Day is a day where the museums are creating the most interesting and fun activities for visitors, so you can’t really go wrong.
But here are my Museum Day recommendations based on my favorite museums!
Thinkery, Austin’s children’s museum, is made for kids. There’s an outdoor playground, water room, pretend play market, light room and more.
Bullock Texas State History Museum has fun interactive exhibits (and a variety of history to keep kids interested), and it’s right across the street from Blanton Museum of Art. Blanton has areas where kids can make their own art, and the Austin building is a cool spot to check out and take pictures of kids. If you’re wanting one more in the area, the State Capitol is nearby and it’s a good spot to explore, and look at statues and architecture.
The Texas Science and Natural History Museum on UT campus is great for animal and dinosaur lovers. There’s a T-Rex and quetzalcoatlus skeleton in the lobby, and a whole discovery center with interactive fossil and dinosaur activities downstairs.
There are two outdoor art museums that are great to check out with kids — outdoors means they don’t have to be as quiet and calm as an indoor art museum! The Contemporary – Laguna Gloria has a big property with big sculptures spread throughout. Lots to explore! And Umlauf Sculpture Garden always hosts fun family events, and it’s a lovely garden to wander around and look at the sculptures.
Want to learn all about Austin’s best museums? See my picks.