Free San Diego Attraction Passes Via Library Discover & Go

Did you realize your San Diego Public Library card is a key to unlocking free admission to a few of the metropolis’s hottest museums and sights?

It’s known as the Discover & Go program. Since my husband didn’t have a library card, I had him apply for one to reap the benefits of these San Diego reductions for a latest journey to Balboa Park. Here’s the way it went.

Step 1: Get Your Free San Diego Public Library Card

Getting a library card is step one, and the method is surprisingly fast.

1. Start Online: Fill out the Temporary Online Library Card Registration kind on the San Diego Public Library web site. Once you submit it, you’ll instantly obtain a brief library card quantity.
2. Visit a Library Branch: Next, take your non permanent card quantity, a sound photograph ID, and proof of your present deal with (like a utility invoice in case your deal with isn’t in your ID) to any San Diego Public Library location.

My husband arrived on the La Jolla department proper when it opened at 9:30 a.m. on a Friday. (That’s additionally normally when there’s the accessible free avenue parking close to the doorway.) He introduced his non permanent quantity and ID on the entrance desk and walked out with a everlasting library card in what he described as only a few minutes.

Step 2: Explore the Free Attractions Through Discover & Go

Now that you’ve got a library card, you’ll be able to entry the Discover & Go program on-line.

• What it’s: This program offers San Diego Public Library cardholders with free day passes to numerous native museums and cultural sights.
• Participating Attractions: The checklist adjustments however sometimes consists of unbelievable locations like:
  • The New Children’s Museum
  • Museum of Us
  • San Diego Museum of Art
  • San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum
  • Skateworld
  • MCASD in La Jolla (tip: ages 25 and youthful are at all times free)
  • Mingei Museum
  • SDSU Athletics (these get reserved shortly)
  • and extra

Step 3: Reserve Your Free Passes

Using the Discover & Go web site is simple, but it surely does require superior planning. Not many sights have same-day and even next-day tickets.

1. Log In: You’ll want your library card quantity (discovered on the again of your card) and your PIN. If you don’t have a PIN or forgot it, there’s a hyperlink on the login web page to set one up. My husband arrange his PIN throughout this step.
2. Browse Offers: Once logged in, you’ll be able to see which sights have passes accessible on what dates.
3. Reserve: If you discover an give you like, click on on it to order your cross. You can normally select between a cell cross or one you’ll be able to print at residence.

The web page you browse seems like this.

My husband printed a cross for the San Diego Museum of Art a couple of week forward of his go to (extra on this beneath).

Important Tips

• Availability: Passes availability is proscribed. It’s a good suggestion to test the positioning commonly and plan forward.
• Restrictions: Most gives have particular guidelines, corresponding to limits on how many individuals the cross covers or how usually you’ll be able to reserve a cross for a specific attraction. Always learn the small print of every supply rigorously earlier than reserving.

Pro Tip: Combine Resident’s Free Tuesday with Discover & Go

Balboa Park’s “Residents Free Tuesdays” program provides San Diego City and County residents free admission to pick museums every Tuesday of the month. Different museums take part on totally different Tuesdays, following a month-to-month rotating schedule. A sound photograph ID displaying native residency is required free of charge entry.

My husband was headed to Balboa Park on the First Tuesday of the month. These are the free museums:

But it had been some time since he’d been to the San Diego Museum of Art, so he selected that as his Discover & Go free attraction. General admission to the museum would in any other case be $20.

All I heard about for the following two days was how he was in a position to spend a day at Balboa Park visiting museums free of charge. Yes, he’s a historical past and artwork buff, but it surely does present the worth of mixing these two promotions. All you have to do is:

1. Check the Free Tuesday Schedule: See which museum(s) supply free admission on the particular Tuesday you propose to go. Remember that free entry generally has exclusions. For instance, the IMAX dome movie show at The Fleet isn’t included. You’d purchase a separate ticket when you needed to see a film.
2. Check Discover & Go for More: Search for passes accessible on that very same Tuesday for a Balboa Park museum that might in any other case be full value.
3. Reserve Your Second Pass.
4. Visit the Free Museums: Arriving early on Tuesdays is a good suggestion. We shoot for about 9:30-9:45 a.m. and park within the lot behind Fleet Science Center.

By planning forward and checking each the Balboa Park Free Tuesday schedule and the Discover & Go cross availability, it’s simple to take pleasure in a free and enjoyable time out!