Tuesdays: 10:45 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Wednesdays: 8:30 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Thursday: 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Friday: 9:50 - 10:30 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Sunday: noonish - 4:30 p.m.
Mondays: Closed except when open
Evenings by appointment.
Closed on all holidays except Presidents' Day. Special Presidents' Day hours are 7:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Galleries are swept of all visitors fifteen minutes prior to closing.

Admission

$10 for adults
$20 recommended for senior citizens (65 and older)
$5 for children over the age of four and students with a valid picture ID (we reserve the right to decide if the picture is acceptable)
Free to Members and children under four accompanied by a responsible, sober adult.

Luggage & Coat Policy

The Museum reserves the right to decide what can and cannot be checked in at the coat-check facilities. Luggage is generally not allowed into The Museum although we do make exceptions for tastefully small carry-ons and oversize backpacks that are no larger than 16" x 16" x 8". If in doubt, our coat check specialists are equipped with tape measures. Bulky coats are not to be worn to The Museum as they take up a large amount of space - if at all possible, please wear a raincoat/slicker or other sleek coat to preserve coat space for other guests. Furs are not to be worn to The Museum for any number of reasons - because they suck, because they are bulky and because they are never a good fashion choice. However, if you are a patron or serve on the Museum’s board, please, by all means, wear your fur. We will be happy to store it in our refrigerated storage space.

Members

Members receive free admission to The Museum, enjoy a 15% discount in The Store and may take advantage of our ongoing Buy-One-Panini-Get-One-Free* promotion in The Restaurant. Please be prepared to show a valid Member ID card.

* Members may substitute scones, gazpacho or the watercress salad in place of panini for the buy-one-get-one offer.

International Visitors
Welcome to the USA! Maps, brochures, tours, and assistance are available in Chinese, Esperanto, French, Luxembourgish, German, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Please visit our Foreigner Check-In Kiosk in the main lobby for assistance.

Group Visits
Advance reservations are required for all groups of ten or more adults, or ten or more students accompanied by responsible, sober chaperons.

Dining at The Museum
The Museum is proud to offer victuals from The Restaurant, featuring the award-winning panini and chicken Caesar salads of Chef Thom Thum-Bu. Saturday and Sundays feature our Build-Your-Own-Panini bar. Beer and wine are also served; liquor available upon request and advance warning.

The Store
The Store features many expensive hardcover books and other merchandise related to the permanent collection and special exhibitions, including postcards, drink coasters, t-shirts, bumper stickers and kitchen magnets, all tastefully done and artfully arranged.

Parking
The Museum parking garage is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, although it is usually full. If you are able to find a space in the garage, the fee is $17 for one hour, $24 for two hours, $43 for three hours, $57 for five hours, and $10 for five to ten hours. The maximum fee to 12:00 a.m. is $140. Without a validated ticket, the fee is $217 for one hour, $322 for two hours, $427 for three hours, $530 for five hours, and $10 for five to ten hours. The maximum fee to 12:00 a.m. is $640. We have no further information about parking.

Bicycle racks are provided inside the garage for use during regular Museum hours only. Bicycles are parked at the owner's risk; please be aware that there were 240 bicycle thefts from The Museum’s racks in 2006.

Accessibility
The Museum is accessible to wheelchair users, although not all restrooms are accessible. Wheelchairs are available for a fee of $10 (to help defray the cost of their care and oiling) at coat-check on a first-come, first-served basis.

Public Telephones
Are a thing of the past.

Cellular Phones
Will be confiscated if used in the galleries.

Large Print
Magnifying glasses are available for use in the exhibit halls. They can be found in plexiglass dispensers near coat-check. Magnifying glasses are free to all paying visitors.

Service Animals
Service animals are welcome in The Museum. Make sure to stop and say “Hi” to Vince at coat-check. He loves dogs!

Amenities for Children
If you really feel you must use one, a stroller is permitted in most areas—inquire at The Museum Rules Desk for gallery limitations. Oversized and jogging strollers are prohibited. Also prohibited: toys that make noise, stickers, markers, tiny Tupperware containers of cereal, dirty diapers, and loud children with Kool-Aid stains that extend far beyond the perimeter of their lips. The Restaurant offers a complete children's menu, consisting of corn dogs and French fries cut into clever shapes. Consult the daily menu to see which shape we are currently serving.

Coat-Check Facilities
For guidelines on luggage, see Luggage. To avoid waiting in line at the coat-check facilities, please do not bring oversized and/or annoying items to the Museum. This includes large packages you meant to mail before you came but didn’t have time and heavy briefcases from the 1970s that may or may not contain bombs. To ensure the safety of the artwork, the Museum does not permit bombs to be carried on one's back in the galleries.

Gallery Photography Policy
Still photography is permitted in the galleries that showcase our permanent collection. Photographs cannot be published, sold, reproduced, transferred, distributed, Photoshopped or otherwise exploited for fun or profit. Photography is not permitted in areas designated as "No Photography.” No flash! No video or movie cameras! The Museum asks that you also refrain from taking family photos that will later be used for holiday cards. Tripods are allowed on Tuesdays only, and only with a permit issued by The Museum Rules Desk located in the lobby.

Sketching and Copying
Many visitors fancy themselves artists and enjoy noodling away the hours in the galleries making so-so sketches of masterpieces. Why this is seen as a permissible pastime is beyond the breadth and depth of this web site. Suffice it to say that using pencils, crayons, charcoal and pastels in the galleries is permissible. After all, you’re not hurting anyone. Inquire at The Museum Rules Desk in the lobby regarding current special exhibitions in which sketching is permitted. The use of ink, fountain pen, watercolor, and Sharpies is prohibited. While sketching, please do not hinder the normal traffic flow in the galleries or think its cool when other visitors gather behind you to watch you work. The sale of any sketches in the galleries is strictly prohibited unless a 40% commission is paid to The Store.

Lost and Found
Many things are lost and few are found. Inquire at Coat-Check if you’ve lost something and perhaps it will be there. But if it was your wallet, don’t bet on it.

First Aid
If you become injured or nauseous while in the galleries, or you experience numbness on the left side of your body that you suspect may be a heart attack, please inform the nearest guard. While they are not trained in first aid, they are equipped with defibrillators and walkie-talkies.

Libraries and Study Centers
The Museum does not have a library or study center for public use, although visitors are welcome to sit on the floor of the lobby, off to the side so as not to disrupt people flow, and take it all in.