One of the exhibits in honor of the Day of the Dead celebration at the Mexican Fine Arts Museum in Pilsen. (Sun-Times file)
Just because the Art Institute is raising its admission prices doesn’t mean that art has been priced out of your reach.
The Mexican Fine Arts Museum (1852 W. 19th, 312-738-1503) is free year-round, as is the Smart Museum at the University of Chicago (5550 S. Greenwood, 773-702-0200).
Chicago residents with valid library cards also can also check out a Museum Passport that gets two adults and two children into one of 13 museums for free, including the Art Institute, the Shedd Aquarium and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Each library location has a limited number of passports for each of the 13 museums and only one passport can be checked out at a time.
And if that weren’t enough, just about every museum has a free general-admission day. Here's a list of times and locations ...
• Adler Planetarium (1300 S. Lake Shore Drive, 312-922-7827): April 21, April 28, May 5, 12, 19 and 26, June 7-12, Sept. 1, Sept. 8, 14-18, 22 and 29, Oct. 6, 13, 20 and 27, Nov. 3, 10, 17, and 24 and Dec. 1, 8, 15 and 22.
• Art Institute of Chicago (111 S. Michigan, 312-443-3600): 5 p.m.-8 p.m.Thursdays.
• Chicago Children’s Museum (700 E. Grand, 312-527-1000): 5-8 p.m. Thursdays for everyone. First Monday of every month for children 15 and under ($10 adults).
• Field Museum (1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, 312-922-9410): The second Monday of the month (April 13, May 11, June 8, July 13, Aug. 10, Sept. 14, Oct. 12, Nov. 9 and Dec. 14).
• Museum of Contemporary Art (220 E. Chicago, 312-280-2660): Every Tuesday.
• Museum of Science and Industry (5700 S. Lake Shore Drive, 773-684-1414): April 22, June 1-5 and June 19, Oct. 8-9, Oct. 12-16, Oct. 19-23, Oct. 26-Oct. 30 and Nov. 11.
• Shedd Aquarium (1200 S. Lake Shore Drive, 312-939-2438): June 14-19, Mondays and Tuesdays in Sept., Oct. 2-10, Oct. 16-17, Oct. 23-24 and Oct. 30
• Spertus Museum (610 S. Michigan, 312-322-1700): Wednesdays 10 a.m.-Noon and Thursdays 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (Regular admission is relatively inexpensive, though; $7 adults, $5 students and seniors).
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