Taking the whole family to a museum can be a bit pricey, but not in February. It all comes down to a colorful card that can be worth some big bucks during February. It’s the 37th annual Museum Month.
“This is where we offer a half-off admission to all of our museums," interim executive director of the San Diego Museum Council Tom Felkner said. "We really encourage people to come out, have fun, bring your friends and family, and enjoy the day visiting as many museums as you can.”
From the California Surf Museum in Oceanside, to the Warner/Carillo Ranch House in the East County, right down to the Tijuana Estuary — there are a lots of choices.
“You just need to get a printed pass. They're free from any of almost 90 libraries throughout the county," Felkner said. "You can go to the county, city, and the Geisel Library at UC San Diego. So there's plenty of places to pick it up.”
San Diegans can also download a pass to their mobile devices for most museums, but a few accept only the printed pass, such as the San Diego Museum of Art. And when it comes to this grande dame of museums, there’s a very good reason to visit this month.
“We are at a pivotal moment for the San Diego Museum of Art,” said Erika Ulring, the museum’s associate director of marketing and communications.
Standing in the museum’s atrium, Ulring said the museum opened its doors for the first time on Feb. 28, 1926.
“At that time, it was largely modern and contemporary art," she said. "There were local collectors, and it has grown significantly. We now have over 35,000 works in the permanent collection. We welcome traveling exhibitions from all over the world, as well as send our works of art as traveling exhibitions to other museums.”
Entering through the museum’s south-facing doors takes visitors to a hallway/gallery, a little section of the museum that’s always free. On its walls now is a retrospective of the museum’s last 100 years.
Ulring described it as “showing the history of the museum with archival photographs.”
And if anyone ever wondered what the museum’s stunning facade might look like if it were reimagined, there is currently an exhibit called Local Visions.
“We had multiple, almost 100 artists submit their portfolios, and we ultimately chose 10 artists," Ulring said. "They created works of art that reimagined our iconic façade outside and showcase what they dream of the museum.”
Architectural purists needn’t worry. These works of art will stay in the realm of dreams; the museum’s facade is not changing.
Of course, there is plenty more to see across the museum’s 20 galleries, and much more to see outside its walls, outside the 18 museums and cultural institutions in Balboa Park, and dozens more all across the county — and all at half off through Saturday, Feb. 28.
