On Sept. 21, five Santa Barbara County museums will open their doors free of charge along with hundreds of other participating national venues for the 15th annual Museum Day.

The participating local venues are Elverhoj Museum of History & Art, Guadalupe Dunes Center, Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and Wildling Museum of Art and Nature. They will emulate the free admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, D.C.-based facilities, encouraging learning and the spread of knowledge nationwide.

More than 450,000 tickets were downloaded for last year’s event, and Museum Day 2019 is expected to attract more museumgoers than ever before.

Museum Day tickets are available for download at Smithsonian.com/museumday. Visitors who present a Museum Day ticket will gain free entrance for two at participating venues. One ticket is permitted per email address. A list of participating museums, which will be continually updated, can be found at Smithsonian.com/museumday/search.

Participating organizations and associated special exhibitions on Sept. 21:

Elverhoj Museum of History & Art

1624 Elverhoy Way, Solvang

Open Wednesday – Sunday 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Sept. 21 (Museum Day)

www.elverhoj.org

Guadalupe Dunes Center

1065 Guadalupe St., Guadalupe

Open Wednesday – Sunday 10 a.m .– 4 p.m. Other days by appointment.

www.dunescenter.org

Santa Barbara Maritime Museum

113 Harbor Way Suite 190, Santa Barbara

Open every day (except Wednesdays and major holidays) 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Memorial Day to Labor Day). Other days 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

www.sbmm.org

Santa Barbara Museum of Art

1130 State St., Santa Barbara

Open Tuesday – Sunday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

www.sbma.net

Wildling Museum of Art and Nature

1511-B Mission Drive, Solvang

Open Wednesday – Monday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

www.wildlingmuseum.org