Did you know that a New York City Library card gets you more than books? If you're looking for something fun to do in New York, there are dozens of organizations that participate in the Culture Pass from museums to gardens and heritage centers. It's free to sign up and you get all the benefits right away, so what are you waiting for?

So what exactly is included in the Culture Pass?

What's included in the NYC Culture Pass

When you sign up for a free NYC Culture Pass you get access to some of New York's amazing sights and scenes. You get access to all boroughs, but I've broken it down so you can see what's close.

If you head over to the Culture Pass website you can also see what's been updated or added this month!

NYC Culture Pass Manhattan

AKC Museum of the Dog – Manhattan
American Museum of Natural History – Manhattan
Asia Society Museum – Manhattan
Bard Graduate Center Gallery – Manhattan
Center for Jewish History – Manhattan
Children's Museum of Manhattan – Manhattan
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum – Manhattan
The Dessoff Choirs – Manhattan
The Drawing Center – Manhattan
Dyckman Farmhouse Museum – Manhattan
El Museo del Barrio – Manhattan
Fraunces Tavern Museum – Manhattan
The Frick Collection – Manhattan
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum – Manhattan
Irish Arts Center – Manhattan
Japan Society – Manhattan
The Jewish Museum – Manhattan
Kaufman Music Center – Manhattan
The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Manhattan
The Morgan Library & Museum – Manhattan
Morris-Jumel Mansion – Manhattan
Museum at Eldridge Street – Manhattan
Museum of the City of New York – Manhattan
Museum of Arts and Design – Manhattan
Museum of Chinese in America – Manhattan
Museum of Modern Art – Manhattan
New York Youth Symphony – Manhattan
New Museum – Manhattan
Peoples' Symphony Concerts – Manhattan
Poster House – Manhattan
Rubin Museum of Art – Manhattan
Second Stage Theater – Manhattan
The Shed – Manhattan
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian – Manhattan
Society of Illustrators – Manhattan
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum – Manhattan
Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling – Manhattan
Swiss Institute – Manhattan
Ukrainian Museum – Manhattan
Whitney Museum of American Art – Manhattan
Wollman Rink – Manhattan
Young Concert Artists – Manhattan

NYC Culture Pass Bronx

Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum – Bronx
Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD) – Bronx
Bronx Museum of the Arts – Bronx
Bronx Music Heritage Center – Bronx
Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center – Bronx
New York Botanical Garden – Bronx
Pregones/PRTT – Bronx
Van Cortlandt House Museum – Bronx
Wave Hill – Bronx

NYC Culture Pass Brooklyn

Brooklyn Botanic Garden – Brooklyn
Brooklyn Children's Museum – Brooklyn
Brooklyn Museum – Brooklyn
Brooklyn Music School – Brooklyn
International Studio & Curatorial Program – Brooklyn
Wyckoff House Museum – Brooklyn

NYC Culture Pass Staten Island

Alice Austen House – Staten Island
Historic Richmond Town – Staten Island
Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art – Staten Island
National Lighthouse Museum – Staten Island
The Noble Maritime Collection – Staten Island
Staten Island Museum – Staten Island

NYC Culture Pass Queens

CreArtBox – Queens
Flushing Town Hall – Queens
Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning – Queens
King Manor Museum – Queens
Kings Theatre – Brooklyn
Kupferberg Center for the Arts – Queens
Lewis H. Latimer House Museum – Queens
MoMA PS1 – Queens
Museum of the Moving Image – Queens
Noguchi Museum – Queens
Queens Botanical Garden – Queens
Queens Historical Society – Queens
Queens Museum – Queens
SculptureCenter – Queens

How to get a New York Culture Pass

The process is pretty quick and easy but you do need to to sign up for two separate things (both are free if you live in NYC).

Get a NYC Library Card
To qualify for a free public library card in New York City, you must be a resident of New York State or work for a company or go to school in New York City.

It's very easy to apply for one and it can all be done online by going to https://www.nypl.org/library-card

Once you've done that you'll be issued a library card number and you'll also be sent a physical library card!
Register for your Culture Pass NYC
The next step is easy once you've got the library card. Go to https://www.culturepass.nyc/and look at the top menu.

Click on “Reserve a Pass” and select your library system, then log in with your library card information.
Browse through all the Attractions and select one
Now that you're logged in, you can see all the attractions we listed above and find one that interests you. Not all locations are available at all times, and sometimes there's a wait to get yourself a pass this way but if you plan ahead you should be able to find what you're looking for.
Select “Show first available offer”
If you find the attraction you're looking for, you can go ahead and select to show the first available offer.

This will suggest a day of the week and possibly give you the option to reserve a different day. For the less popular attractions you'll see lots of options and for others, you might have to check back later.
Print or download your pass
Once you've reserved, you'll receive a pass and you can go to your location!