Updated as of September 7, 2024.
The Museums for All program offers individuals who receive SNAP benefits access to museums all across our nation for free or at greatly reduced admission fees.
What is Museums for All?
Museums for All is a program designed to encourage those with low income to visit more museums more frequently by reducing financial barriers to admission. Through Museums for All, individuals who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits receive reduced-price or free admission to museums whose admission fees might otherwise be too much to afford. The maximum per-person admission fee under this program is three dollars ($3).
Am I Eligible to Use Museums for All?
Eligibility for Museums for All benefits is based on receiving SNAP benefits and displaying a SNAP EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) card. While some museums may offer reduced or free admission to individuals based on their receipt of other government benefits, such as WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), the Museums for All program guidelines are limited to the presentation of a SNAP EBT card. As noted on the Museums for All “For Visitors” web page: “Please check with the museum you wish to visit ahead of time, as we cannot guarantee that they will honor anything besides the SNAP EBT card.”
How Do I Get Free or Reduced-price Admission?
Just present your SNAP EBT card to a participating museum, and you will receive free or discounted museum admission (no more than $3 per person). Also, up to three (3) additional people in your party can receive free or reduced-price admission fee for each SNAP EBT card presented.
Can I Pay the Admission Fee with my SNAP EBT card?
No. SNAP EBT cards can only be used to purchase eligible food items. The card is only used as proof of eligibility for the Museums for All program.
Are There Limitations on Admission under Museums for All?
No. Museums for All has a “year-round open door policy,” so you may visit anytime during regular museum hours.
Museums for All Adventures Await!
What Museums are Included?
More than one thousand (1,000) museums across the United States participate in the Museums for All program. Check out the Museums for All Participating Museums web page for more information.
In Maryland alone, there are twenty-seven (27) participating museums. The bulleted list below sets forth participating museums in Maryland includes hyperlinks for more information and shows the museum’s location in parentheses. [Note: While the Stop Drop and Play Children’s Museum in Damascus is still listed on the Museums for All web page, it is now permanently closed.]
- American Visionary Art Museum (Baltimore)
- Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park (Annapolis)
- Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center (Solomons)
- Baltimore Museum of Industry (Baltimore)
- B&O Railroad Museum (Baltimore)
- Calvert Marine Museum (Solomons)
- Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (St. Michaels)
- Chesapeake Children’s Museum (Annapolis)
- Discovery Station (Hagerstown)
- Greenbelt Museum (Greenbelt)
- Hammond-Harwood House Museum (Annapolis)
- Historic London Town & Gardens (Edgewater)
- Historic Rich Hill (Bel Alton, Maryland)
- Historic St. Mary’s City (St. Mary’s City)
- Historic Sotterley (Hollywood)
- Irvine Nature Center (Owings Mills)
- Jewish Museum of Maryland (Baltimore)
- KID Museum (Bethesda)
- The Laurel Museum (Laurel)
- Maryland Center for History and Culture (Baltimore)
- Miller House Museum (Hagerstown)
- Museum of Historic Annapolis (Annapolis)
- NASA Goddard Visitor Center (Greenbelt)
- Natural History Society of Maryland (Baltimore)
- The Patuxent River Naval Air Museum and Visitors Center (Lexington Park)
- Piney Point Lighthouse Museum & Historic Park (Piney Point)
- Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture (Baltimore)
- Robinson Nature Center (Columbia)
- The Star-Spangled Banner Flag House (Baltimore)
- St. Clement’s Island Museum (Coltons Point)
- William Paca House and Garden (Annapolis)
Can I Use Museums for All Benefits Outside Maryland?
Yes! All participating Museums for All museums will accept a SNAP EBT card from any state. However, as noted above, you cannot pay any admission fees with a SNAP EBT card.
Contact the Bridges Helpdesk for More Information
- Our Accessible web form
- Email: Helpdesk@imagemd.org
- Text: Send to: (410) 357-1546
- Voice mail: Call (410) 357-1546, leave a voice mail message, and we will return your call
This unique project is being coordinated through The IMAGE Center of Maryland, a center for independent living in Towson, and it is funded by a grant from the Maryland Department of Education Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services.