SoCal Museums presents “Free-for-All” day

Graphic by: Katy Santa Cruz

Courtesy of Santa Monica History Museum

A car drives through the intersection of Wilshire and Westwood in front of the Hammer Museum at the University of California, Los Angeles, in Los Angeles, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb 24, 2025. The Hammer Museum is participating in Southern California’s annual Free-For-All Museum Day on March 16, 2025. (Katy Santa Cruz | The Corsair)

Two women observe a framed painting at the Hammer Museum, discussing the details of the artwork in a quiet gallery space on Feb. 25, 2025, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Jiale Xian | The Corsair)

A Shaded Rest by Adelbert Bartlett courtesy of Santa Monica History Museum

A passerby walks by an entrance to The Hammer Museum at the University of California, Los Angeles, in Los Angeles, Calif., Tuesday on Feb 24, 2025. The Hammer Museum is participating in Southern California’s annual Free-For-All Museum Day on March 16, 2025. (Katy Santa Cruz | The Corsair)

A couple stands in front of a text panel reading about Colectivo Cherani, at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. Colectivo Cherani is known for its politically engaged art, part of a 2011 political uprising by the Purépecha community of Cherán in Michoacán, Mexico, Colectivo Cherani pioneered a cultural movement that seeks to recover and invigorate the plurality of cultural expressions of the Purépecha people. (Jiale Xian | The Corsair)

Palisades Park Windmere by Adelbert Bartlett courtesy of Santa Monica History Museum

A pedestrian waits to cross the intersection of Wilshire and Westwood in front of the Hammer Museum at the University of California, Los Angeles, in Los Angeles, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb 24, 2025. The Hammer Museum is participating in Southern California’s annual Free-For-All Museum Day on March 16, 2025. (Katy Santa Cruz | The Corsair)

A visitor studies a series of black-and-white photographs from the “HEAD FOR THE HILLS!” exhibition on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Calif. The exhibition displays a selection of photographs from The Grunwald Center and Hammer Contemporary Collection and is open from Feb. 9, 2025, to Aug. 24, 2025.

(Jiale Xian | The Corsair)

The Santa Monica History Museum will join more than 30 other museums around Southern California to offer free general admission as part of “Museums Free-for-All” day on Sunday, March 16.

 Alexa Nishimoto, president of SoCal Museums and marketing associate for the Japanese American National Museum, said, “As Los Angeles and Southern California continue to recover after the devastating fires, we hope to offer a space of comfort and connection for people.”

Visitors to the Santa Monica History Museum will be able to view their current exhibit, “Roots and Branches: A Tree’s View of Santa Monica.” The interactive exhibit takes visitors on a journey through Santa Monica’s history, beginning with the native Tongva people and descending into the modern-day transformation of the city's treescape through urban expansion.

 Lisa Dannenbaum is the director of communications at the Santa Monica History Museum. “We love how it really matches up with our mission which is to make museums accessible to everyone. That’s a value that we hold very close,”she said.

 A full list of participating museums can be found below. Please note that while general admission is free, parking and other fees are not included.

Academy Museum of Motion Picture

American Museum of Ceramic Art

Autry Museum of the American West

Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College

Bowers Museum

The Broad

California African American Museum

California Botanical Garden

Catalina Museum for Art & History

Columbia Memorial Space Center

Craft Contemporary

Forest Lawn Museum

Fowler Museum

Frederick R Weisman Art Museum

The Getty Center

GRAMMY Museum

Hammer Museum

Holocaust Museum LA

Institute Contemporary Art, LA

International Printing Museum

La Brea Tar Pits

LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes

Lincoln Memorial Shrine

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)

Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)

Museum of Tolerance

Santa Barbara Museum of Art

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

Santa Monica History Museum

Skirball Cultural Center

Sunnylands Center & Gardens

The Wende Museum