If your budget is tight these days, check out these family-friendly freebies.
Bay Area-wide
Shakespeare in the Park
San Francisco Shakespeare Festival offers free outdoor performances of classic plays each summer in parks around the Bay Area.
Public Libraries
Libraries throughout the Bay Area regularly host arts and crafts events, storytimes, performances and more. Check your local library’s online calendar to see what’s being offered.
Discover and Go
Use your local library card to get free and discounted admission to many Bay Area museums and cultural institutions.
East Bay
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
Free first Thursday of each month and always free for ages 18 and under.
2155 Center St., Berkeley
Oakland Museum of California
OMCA offers free admission every first Sunday of the month. 11am-5pm.
1000 Oak St., Oakland
Richmond Art Center
Check the website for free family art activities.
2540 Barrett Ave., Richmond
Sundays at Hagemann Ranch
This is open the last Sunday of every month except July and December for kids’ crafts and games, a petting zoo and more. 1-5pm.
455 Olivina Ave., Livermore
lhg.org/Site_Hagemann/Hagemann_Ranch.html
Marin
Bay Area residents get free admission the first Wednesday of the month twice a year. The next Free First Wednesday is March 5, 2025.
East Fort Baker, 557 McReynolds Road, Sausalito
Bay Model Visitors Center
This center, which features a huge 3-D, working hydraulic model of San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta System, is always free. Open 9am-3pm Tuesday-Friday and 9am-4pm Saturday.
2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito
www.spn.usace.army.mil/missions/recreation/bay-model-visitor-center
Peninsula
Courthouse Square Events
Come summer, Redwood City’s Courthouse Square is the place to be for free live music, weekly movies and more. Check the events calendar on the website for dates and times.
2200 Broadway, Redwood City
San Mateo County History Museum
The San Mateo County History Museum is free the first Friday of the month. It includes a “Playing in the Past” preschool program at 11am and tour of the museum at 2pm. 10am-4pm.
2200 Broadway, Redwood City
historysmc.org/free-first-fridays
The Reading Bug
This children’s bookstore offers outdoor storytimes every Friday and Saturday at 11am.
785 Laurel St., San Carlos
San Francisco
Asian Art Museum
Admission is free the first Sunday of the month. The day includes storytimes, crafts, tours and more. 10am-5pm.
200 Larkin St.
Cable Car Museum
Watch the massive cables pull these historic cars and learn about their history for free. Closed Mondays.
1201 Mason St.
Cartoon History Museum
Pay what you wish on the first Tuesday of each month. 5 and under always free. 11am-5pm.
781 Beach St.
Conservatory of Flowers
Free the first Tuesday of each month. 10am-4:30pm.
100 John F. Kennedy Drive
de Young Museum
Admission is free every Saturday for Bay Area residents. There’s also free admission for everyone the first Tuesday of the month. 9:30am-5:15pm.
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
Legion of Honor
Admission is free every Saturday for Bay Area residents. Plus, there’s free admission for all every first Tuesday of the month. 9:30am-5:15pm.
100 34th Ave.
Randall Museum
This family-focused museum, which includes a caboose, wild native California animals and drop-in activities, is always free. 10am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday.
199 Museum Way
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Bay Area residents get in free the first Thursday of the month from 1-8pm. Visitors 18 and under are always free.
151 Third St.
Stern Grove Festival
The oldest free summer performing arts festival in the country, the festival includes live music and dance performances. Reservations required. 2pm Sundays.
19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard
South Bay and Coast
Located next to Mission Santa Clara, this free museum has a collection of 10,000 objects, including Renaissance, Native American and Spanish Colonial art. 11am-4pm Tuesday-Sunday.
Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara
Los Altos History Museum and History House
Learn about the history of the Los Altos area for free. 12-4pm Tuesday-Sunday.
51 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos
Museum of American Heritage
Visit a 1920s kitchen, an early 1900s store, 1940s radio repair shop and historic gardens. Museum is free. 11am-4pm Friday-Sunday.
351 Homer Ave., Palo Alto
NUMU – New Museum Los Gatos
Free the first Sunday of the month. Always free to Los Gatos residents, youth under 18, families up to four with current Electronic Benefit Transfer card, Muwekma Ohlone Tribe members and active-duty military personnel and their families. 10am-4pm Thursday-Sunday.
106 E. Main St., Los Gatos
San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles
Members of the military are free, as well as visitors ages 17 and under.
520 S. First St., San Jose
Santa Cruz Surfing Museum
Traces more than 100 years of surfing history in Santa Cruz through photos, surfboards and more. Always free. 12-4pm Thursday-Monday.
Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse, Lighthouse Point, 701 W. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz
cityofsantacruz.com/government/city-departments/parks-recreation/facilities/surfing-museum
Stanford’s Cantor Art Center
Offers a free twice-yearly family-focused day featuring hands-on art making and performances, as well as virtual activities every second Sunday. All ages and ability levels are invited. Check website for details.
328 Lomita Drive at Museum Way, Palo Alto