More Museum Madness in October

Very limited offer:  Get 4 tix to Audubon Zoo for $25!  Click here beginning 10:00 am on October 21, 2010 to purchase.  Supplies are limited.

September saw some great museum deals in New Orleans, but the madness isn't over yet.  Read below for deals and info about free admission to all sorts of NOLA museums.  And remember that many museums not listed here often have inexpensive admission prices ($5 or less per person and no charge for kiddos) and that you can sometimes get discounted admission if you have a AAA card.  Always ask before making a purchase.  A penny saved is a penny you can spend on beignets later.

• The National World War II Museum gives free entrance to military personnel in uniform, WW II veterans, and children under the ages of 5.  Regular admission is $18 per person, but you can buy an annual membership for just $35 for one person and $65 for two people.  That means you could go to the museum everyday for less than ten cents a day.  That's a bargain!  For more info call 504-528-1944.

• Sunday, October 17 from Noon to 4:30 p. m. admission is free to the Louisiana Children's Museum for everyone!  The museum is located at 420 Julia St. in the Warehouse District.  Call 504-586-0725 ext 210 for more info.

• Save $21 on adult admission when you purchase an Audubon Experience Package.  Visit Audubon Zoo, Audubon Aquarium, Entergy IMAX® Theater and Audubon Insectarium for one low price of $34.95.  The Audubon Experience Ticket includes one visit to each facility; ticket expires five days after first use, excluding Mondays when all facilities are closed.  

• Now through December 11, 2010 more than 20 examples of Louisiana-made furniture from the 18th and early 19th centuries are on display at The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street in the French Quarter.  The pieces are on loan from Magnolia Mound Plantation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  The exhibition is free and open to the public and is presented in anticipation of The Collection’s forthcoming book Furnishing Louisiana: Creole and Acadian Furniture, 1735–1835 (Winter 2010).  Call 504-523-4662 for more info.

• View Mignon Faget: A Life in Art and Design now until January 2, 2010 for free at The Historic New Orleans Collection, 533 Royal St in the French Quarter.  Call 504-523-4662 for more info.  Click here to read all about Faget and the exhibit.

• Every Wednesday, everyone gets in free to the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) located in City Park.  Wednesday museum hours are Noon to 5:00 p. m.  For more info, call 504-658-4100.

• Located next to NOMA is the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden.  The garden is free and open to the public seven days a week 10:00 a. m. to 4:45 p. m. and 'til dusk on Wednesdays.  Lagniappe:  The garden offers a free tour.  The tour can be accessed via guests' cell phones.

• Free admission to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art every Thursday, 10:00 a. m. to 5:00 p. m.  for Louisiana residents.  Every other day of the week, get into Ogden for 1/2 price.  To get in on this deal, call 504-539-9613 and reference promotional code “NOMCVBOctober2010”.

• More art:  Everyday, admission to the Contemporary Arts Center is only $5 for adults, $3 for students, and FREE to kids aged 15 and under.

• The McKenna Museum of African-American Art is a stellar museum with stunning exhibits.  The current exhibit, Synesthesia:  A Blending of the Senses combines visual art, music, and spoken word (rap / poetry).  If you are an art lover or are interested in African-American culture, then you need to visit this museum.  Admission is always free; museum hours are Thursday - Saturday 11:00 a. m. 'til 4:00 p. m. and Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment.  The museum often has special events with special hours.  Find the museum in Central City at 2003 Carondelet St.  For more info, call 504-586-7432.

• The Diboll Gallery at Loyola University is always free to get into.  Located at 6363 St. Charles Ave., 4th floor of the Monroe Library-Loyola University, it features artifacts of Belgian Congo and rotating exhibits that showcase the works of Loyola students and faculty.  The gallery is open Monday – Saturday from 10 a. m. to 6 p. m., and Sundays from Noon to 6 p. m.  For more information, contact Gallery Director Karoline Schleh at gallery@loyno.edu or 504-865-5456.

• Newcomb Art Gallery on the campus of Tulane University (right next to Loyola) has no admission charge.  It is open noon - 5:00 p. m. Tuesday - Sunday.  This is a first-rate gallery showcasing impressive works of art.  Call 504-865-5328 for more info.

Newcomb Art Gallery

• Preservation Resource Center:  At the PRC visitors can learn the difference between a Creole cottage and a double-gallery Garden District mansion and between a standard shotgun house and a camelback.  The center features both permanent and rotating exhibits on New Orleans architecture and historic neighborhoods.  Admission is free but donations are accepted.  Find the PRC at 923 Tchoupitoulas St. in the Warehouse District.  The center is open Monday - Friday, 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. 

• StoppingPoints.com, a guide for discovering historical markers and points of interest throughout the United States, has launched another new and extensive section thoroughly covering Louisiana's Historical Markers.  The new Louisiana StoppingPoints section lists and pinpoints over 400 markers within the state.  Most markers are grouped and mapped by parish, by city, and also individually, allowing history buffs to easily locate them when visiting the Pelican State (the Pelican bird is part of the Louisiana historical marker medallion symbol).  Consider this a free guide to the state's largest outdoor museum.

• Also, be sure to visit the St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square at no charge.

For information on other New Orleans area museums, many of them very low cost, including the Backstreet Cultural Museum, the New Orleans African-American Museum, and the American Italian Renaissance Foundation's Museum & Library click here.    And don't forget that the arts district is home to many galleries that are open to the public free of charge. 

Want info about other free and low cost things to do in New Orleans?  Click here for tour info, and click here for info about free activities.  For info about visiting New Orleans with your kids, click here. For info on a "secret" museum that's all NOLA all the time, click here.  Finally, don't forget about the 411 NOLA calendar which always lists interesting events, many of them free of charge!