Visit These North Carolina Museums For Free On Museum Day 2021

NORTH CAROLINA — After a long year of coronavirus closures and other restrictions, gather your family or your best group of friends to enjoy a day of free admission at the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, the Ava Gardner Museum and several others in North Carolina.

Smithsonian Magazine’s 17th annual Museum Day will take place Sept. 18 at select museums in North Carolina, as well as in cities across the country.

This year’s theme, “Experience America,” celebrates “the return to, and resurgence of, our country's diverse cultural experiences,” following closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a news release.

The following museums in North Carolina are participating in this year’s Museum Day:

• Ava Gardner Museum, Smithfield, N.C., Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Asheville, N.C., Hours: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Blandwood Mansion, Greensboro, N.C., Hours: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• Cape Fear Museum, Wilmington, N.C., Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Frisco Native American Museum & Natural History Center, Frisco, N.C., Hours: 10:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Greensboro History Museum, Greensboro, N.C., Hours: 10 a.m. -5 p.m.
• Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex, Fayetteville, N.C., Hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Robeson Planetarium and Science Center, Lumberton, N.C., Hours: 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
• Sylvan Heights Bird Park, Scotland Neck, N.C., Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, Charlotte, N.C., Hours: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

The purpose of Museum Day, according to a release, is to promote equal access to the wide array of museums in the United States, especially among children and underrepresented communities.

Museum-goers can head to the Museum Day website to download their ticket. Each ticket grants the ticket holder and one guest free, timed access to any participating museum. One ticket is permitted per email address.

See the full list of participating museums at SmithsonianMag.com.