September 15, 2015

UNL museums to offer free admission Sept. 26

The Sheldon Museum of Art.
Daniel Mirer

Daniel Mirer

The International Quilt Study Center and Museum, Sheldon Museum of Art and University of Nebraska State Museum will open their doors free of charge on Sept. 26, as part of Smithsonian magazine’s 11th annual Museum Day Live event. On that day, participating museums across the United States emulate the spirit of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington D.C.-based facilities, which offer free admission every day.

The event represents Smithsonian’s commitment to make learning and the spread of knowledge accessible to everyone. Last year’s event drew more than 400,000 participants, and this year’s event is expected to attract more museum-goers than ever.

International Quilt Study Center and Museum, 1523 N. 33rd St.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Quilt House visitors will see a selection of quilts from across centuries and around the world in “African-American Quilts from the Cargo Collection,” “Ambiguity and Enigma: Recent Quilts by Michael James,” “Covering the War,” “The Extraordinary Made from the Ordinary,” “Getting to Know You” and “The Quilted Conscience.”

“This year we hope visitors will enjoy our newly opened expansion,” said Leslie Levy, IQSCM director. “The addition not only doubled our exhibitions and collections storage, but includes a new digital gallery offering a truly expanded experience for visitors of all ages.”

Sheldon Museum of Art, 12th and R streets

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Exhibitions featured during Museum Day Live! include “Black Fire: A Constant State of Revolution,” “Gordon Parks: Segregation Story,” “Emory Douglas: Power to the People, The Struggle Continues” and “James VanDerZee: Eighteen Photographs.”

Sheldon’s six permanent collection galleries are open as laboratories in which unique ideas and installations give visitors opportunities to see and experience new acquisitions and rarely exhibited objects, as well as explore new interpretations of Sheldon collection favorites.

For more information, visit http://www.sheldonartmuseum.org.

University of Nebraska State Museum, 645 N. 14th St.

Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Major attractions in world-famous Elephant Hall include mammoths and mastodons of Nebraska’s past. Other popular exhibits include Minerals and Meteorites, Bizarre Beasts, the Hall of Nebraska Wildlife, Weapons Through Time and First Peoples of the Plains. Young visitors will enjoy digging for fossils in the lively Discovery Center.

“As a Smithsonian Affiliate Museum, we are especially excited to participate in Museum Day Live!” said Priscilla Grew, State Museum director. “There’s something for everyone in our state’s premier natural history museum.”

Visit http://museum.unl.edu/ for more information.

The Museum Day Live! ticket is now available for download at http://smithsonian.com/museumday. Visitors who present the ticket will gain free entrance for two at participating venues for one day only. One ticket per household, per email address is permitted.

For more information about the event and a full list of participating museums and cultural institutions, go to http://smithsonian.com/museumday.