8 Of NYC's Best Museums To Offer Free Admission Next Week — Here's Why

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — For one night every summer, Fifth Avenue's museums shut down the avenue to traffic and open their doors to pedestrians for free art, music, and other festivities for all ages.

The event, called the Museum Mile Festival, will be taking over Fifth Avenue from 82nd Street to 110th Street on Tuesday, June 10, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Now in its 47th year, the festival's participating museums include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, El Museo del Barrio, Neue Galerie New York, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Cooper Hewitt, the Jewish Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, and the Africa Center.

Also in the neighborhood, the New York Academy of Medicine, the Church of the Heavenly Rest, Asia Society, 92NY, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, NYC Kids Project, The People's Bus, and AKC Museum of the Dog will also host activities.

The event will kick off with an opening ceremony at the Museum of the City of New York at 5:45 p.m.

Here's a list of all the activities at the museums.

The Met

Address: 1000 Fifth Ave.

Activities: Create art, catch a performance, check out current exhibitions, including the newly opened P.S. Art: Celebrating the Creative Spirit of New York City Kids.

El Museo del Barrio

Address: 1230 Fifth Ave.

Activities: Live music from DJ Chiquita Brujita, art-making, and free access to current exhibitions including Mestre Didi: Spiritual Form and Candida Alvarez: Circle, Point, Hoop.

Neue Galerie New York

Address: 1048 Fifth Ave.

Activities: The Neue Galerie is keeping its museum and gift shop open late. Don't miss the museum's exhibit, Austrian Masterworks from the Neue Galerie.

The Guggenheim

Address: 1071 Fifth Ave.

Activities: The Guggenheim is hosting outdoor activities in front of the museum, including family-friendly art-making, leaf rubbings, street tree identification, and sidewalk water painting tied to its current exhibition, Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers. Inside the museum, enjoy live piano performances activating Johnson’s "Sanguine" and access to all galleries.

Cooper Hewitt

Address: 2 East 91st St.

Activities: Participate in a design activity called "What Makes NYC Feel Like Home" and explore the Cooper Hewitt's current exhibition, Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial. The exhibition features 25 commissions that illustrate the ways design is embedded in contemporary life.

The Jewish Museum

Address: 1109 Fifth Ave.

Activities: In addition to opening its doors to visitors, the Jewish Museum will feature a fun klezmer band called Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars

Museum of the City of New York

Address: 1220 Fifth Ave.

Activities: The Museum of the City of New York will host street games, Bhangra dance, and crafts in front of the building, inspired by its current exhibit, Urban Stomp: Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor.

The Africa Center

Address: 1280 Fifth Ave.

Activities: At the Africa Center, visit exhibits like Sarah Elawad's When the War Is Over, and Between Nostalgia & Dreams, by Yusuf Ahmed. Outdoors, listen to high-energy live music from Alsarah and the Nubatones.

For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.