The Southern Museum will open its doors free of charge to all Museum Day ticket holders on Saturday September 21, 2019 as part of Smithsonian magazine’s 15th annual Museum Day, a national celebration of boundless curiosity in which participating museums emulate the free admission policy at the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington D.C.-based museums.

Museum Day represents a nationwide commitment to access, equity and inclusion. Over 450,000 tickets were downloaded for last year’s event, and Museum Day 2019 is expected to attract more museumgoers than ever before.

This year, Museum Day will celebrate the Smithsonian Year of Music, an institution-wide initiative celebrating the Smithsonian’s vast musical collections and resources through 365 days of music-related programming. Music is not only a reflection of human creativity and innovation, but also a key method of communication and cross-cultural exchange and understanding. The Smithsonian Year of Music crosses disciplines, bringing together music-related resources in art, history, culture, science and education.

“This is the Smithsonian in your neighborhood,” said Dr. Richard Banz, Executive Director, “Museum Day is the one day of the year where we are open for free. There is also a wonderful sense of comradery knowing that our affiliation with the Smithsonian allows us to connect with various museums for a common purpose and theme.”

We will be exploring music from the time of the Civil War with special performances and hands-on activities for visitors of all ages. These include a fife and drum performance, library story time, Civil War music exploration and DIY instrument crafts. Kids can make their own music and play along!

The Civil War music exploration and build-an-instrument craft will be 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Fife and Drum performances are scheduled for 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.

Museum Day tickets will be available for download at Smithsonian.com/museumday beginning August 15. Visitors who present a Museum Day ticket will gain free entrance for two at participating venues on September 21, 2019. 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.
For more information, please visit Smithsonian.com/museumday.