This February marks the 24th year of Museum Month in San Diego, brought to you by San Diego Museum Council and Macy’s! 42 different museums and cultural establishments across the county are participating in this incredible event by offering 1/2 off general admission with a FREE Museum Month Pass.

How To Participate
Beginning in February, you may pick up a FREE Museum Month Pass at one of Macy’s 14 area stores in San Diego, Temecula, and Imperial Valley. Take the Museum Month Pass with you to each of the participating establishments you wish to visit and receive 1/2 off admission for you, and up to 3 guests! Easy! I keep my Museum Month Pass with me when out and about, in case we want to hit up one of the participants when we’re out and about. Click HERE to find a Macy’s location near you.

Participating Establishments
• Barona Cultural Center & Museum
• Birch Aquarium at Scripps
• Bonita Museum & Cultural Center
• California Surf Museum
• Coronado Historical Association and Museum of History & Art
• Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum
• Gaslamp Museum at Wm. H. Davis House
• Heritage of the Americas Museum
• Japanese Friendship Garden
• La Jolla Historical Society
• Living Coast Discovery Center
• LUX Art Institute
• Maritime Museum of San Diego
• Marston House & Gardens
• Mingei International Museum
• Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego Downtown
• Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego La Jolla
• Museum of Making Music
• Museum of Photographic Arts
• Oceanside Museum of Art
• Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
• San Diego Air & Space Museum
• San Diego Archaeological Center
• San Diego Automotive Museum
• San Diego Botanic Garden
• San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum
• San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
• San Diego History Center
• San Diego Model Railroad Museum
• San Diego Museum of Art
• San Diego Natural History Museum
• Serra Museum
• The New Children’s Museum
• The Water Conservation Garden
• Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve
• Timken Museum of Art
• USS Midway Museum
• Veteran’s Museum & Memorial Center
• Visions Art Museum
• Warner-Carrillo Ranch House & Museum
• Whaley House Museum
• Women’s Museum of California

Lots To Explore
“Museum Month will serve as an ideal platform for culture-seekers to discover new inspirations in 2013,” said Jessica Crawford, president of San Diego Museum Council’s Board of Directors. “Thanks to Macy’s, we’re able showcase the diversity of museums San Diego has to offer at an exceptional discount.” The following is a sampling of activities to explore:

San Diego Air & Space Museum will host the widely popular “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” exhibit for the first time in San Diego since 1935. Opening on Feb 1., the exhibit will be filled with strange and bizarre items from around the world that inspired a franchise including books, comic books and television shows.

Museum of Contemporary Art’s La Jolla location, in collaboration with the Timken Museum of Art and The San Diego Museum of Art, will host “Behold, America! Art of the United States from Three San Diego Museums” through Feb. 10. Bringing together the finest artwork from three San Diego art museums, “Behold America!” includes an array of paintings, sculptures and photography from the colonial period to present. Additionally, the downtown location will open the “Scoli Acosta: Elementalisthmus” exhibition on Feb. 4, featuring the artwork of Los Angeles-based artist Scoli Acosta.

The New Children’s Museum in downtown will continue to host its TRASH Exhibition filled with original, contemporary art designed and transformed by trash. In preparation for a new art and food-focused exhibition opening in Fall 2013, guests can visit the “Test Kitchen” to catch a peek at some of the developing artwork that will later be showcased. Additionally, the museum will host a Valentine’s Day drop-in activity on Feb. 14 for guests to create and design heartwarming cards with custom stamping tools.

San Diego Natural History Museum (theNAT) opens “Dr. Entomo’s Palace of Exotic Wonders” on Feb. 22, featuring bizarre and unusual insects from around the world. Fashioned as a circus sideshow attraction, the exhibit will include a special San Diego-only section that highlights the remarkably odd insects that crawl around and inhabit San Diego County.

Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park will reveal a new exhibition of the international travels by photographer Jessica Lange called “UNSEEN: The Photographs of Jessica Lange.” Featuring images taken from Mexico, Ethiopia, Romania, Russia, Finland, Italy, France and the United States, Lange exposes the beauty and mystery found in her travels through each photograph.

LUX Art Institute will feature an exhibit by the Spanish-born sculptor Carlos Vega throughout the entire month of February. Originally created from large-scale malleable metal palates, Vega’s artwork includes carved lead panels that hint to his traditional Spanish heritage.

Birch Aquarium at Scripps invites guests to dive deep into an exploration of the sea to discover the world of kelp during the month of February. Programs include weekly dive shows and interactive projects through “Think Tank,” a new collaborative onsite learning experience that is included with admission.

Certain establishments may charge an additional fee for special exhibits. The Museum Month Pass grants entry at a discount toward general admission, but not toward exhibits. It might be a good idea to call ahead of time if and verify any additional fees, if there’s an exhibit you’ve heard of at a particular establishment.

Our Experience
We’ve enjoyed a number of museums by participating in Museum Month. We hit up a number of ones new to us the year prior to our daughter starting Kindergarten. It was super fun exploring them together! Perhaps we’ll see you at one of the museums or cultural establishments soon!