Of course we already know there are a ton of cool things to do in LA that are free (including not having to pay those sneaky parking fees) but did you know that this month you can score free ice cream, attend a Getty Center summer art festival and listen to music all month long without paying a dime? If you need additional inspiration for things to do with your kids around LA, check out our summer bucket list before school starts later this month.
Free, Kid-Friendly Events around LA in August
Free Kind Ice Cream Bars
Aug. 5-8: KIND loaded a food truck with plant-based frozen treats and hits the road and is coming to Santa Monica! The tour celebrates the brand’s non-dairy frozen treat selection including a new flavor for this year, Mint Chocolate Almond & Nut. PS: We got our hands on some and they are delicious. Event details.
Sensory Friendly Family Day
Aug. 6: The GRAMMY Museum & Your Ears Rock present Sensory Friendly Saturday. The Museum is committed to increasing access to our interactive, educational space by providing a sensory-friendly environment designed for patrons of all ages and abilities and their families. Programming includes less crowding, quieter sound levels, lower lighting, free admission to the GRAMMY Museum, and more! Event details.
Free Summer Art Festivals
Various weekend dates throughout Aug: Getty is partnering with organizations across L.A. for free weekend festivals, organized on the occasion of the Getty Center’s 25th anniversary—and you’re invited! Each event will feature hands-on art workshops, live music and performances, an immersive digital experience of Getty collections, giveaways, and photo booths, as well as food for purchase. All events are free, no reservations required. Event details.
California Sunset Series Sailing Regatta
Every Wed. throughout Aug.: The California Yacht Club puts on this series of sailing races that take place Wednesday from April 13 to September 7. The prime viewing spots are at Fisherman’s Village and Burton Chace Park. Have your phones ready around 7:30 p.m. to capture photos and videos of the multitude of sailboats returning to the harbor’s main channel. Event details.
Every Body Explores
Tues.-Sat. throughout Aug.: The Everybody Explores program provides participants of all ages an opportunity to check out a Naturalist field backpack they can use to complete self-guided activities, make observations and explore the park. See guide for locations. Event details.
Jazz at LACMA
Every Fri. throughout Aug.: Celebrate L.A.’s finest jazz musicians with Jazz at LACMA, presented Friday evenings. RSVP for a reminder email. Seating is limited and first come, first served. Event details.
Summer Sounds on the Plaza
Every Fri. throughout Aug.: Hit the Original Farmer’s Market Plaza every Fri.evening and enjoy a great mix of musical genres while you shop, dine and relax. Location: Farmers Market Plaza in front of Clock Tower. Event details.
Live Weekend Entertainment
Fri.-Sun. throughout Aug.: Every Fri., Sat. and Sun. The Grove has live entertainment as talented musicians perform for all of The Grove to hear. Event details.
Levitt Pavilion Live Concert Series
Fri.-Sun. throughout Aug.: MacArthur Park transforms into a sonically charged urban oasis with free concerts from established and emerging artists. The electrifying lineup features international greats as well as LA’s own superstar talents who perform a wide variety of genres including cumbia, rock, soul, ska, mariachi, electronic dance music, folkloric music from Mexico & Central America, Tejano, reggae and many more. Event details.
Family Nature Walks
Every Sat. throughout Aug.: Join a guided walk in Eaton Canyon Natural Area. This walk is geared to families, including small children, and everyone is welcome. Walking shoes, sunscreen, water, and a hat are recommended. The walk is free to the public. Meet in front of the building. Event details.
African Marketplace & Drum Circle
Every Sun. throughout Aug.: Join us for live music and performances, yoga, cultural food, handmade clothes and jewelry, fresh produce and much more in Leimert Park. Event details.
Paws & Pages at Annenberg PetSpace
Every Sat. & Sun. throughout Aug.: Visit Annenberg PetSpace for a socially-distanced story time, Pet Encounter, and take-home craft. Help your young reader build communication skills and self-confidence by reading with adoptable pets or listening to a story. This in-space experience includes a book reading, opportunity to meet an adoptable pet or critter ambassador, and craft demonstration with materials to take home and complete. Event details.
Watch Will Rogers Polo Club Matches
Every Sat. & Sun. throughout Aug.: The 2,000-year-old sport is alive and well at Will Rogers State Park, where you can spread out a blanket to watch the hoofs pound past you at the last remaining polo field in Los Angeles. Located on the former estate of actor/cowboy/humorist Will Rogers, who was an avid polo player himself, the Will Rogers Polo Club continues this ancient sport every weekend now through Oct. Event details.
Free Art Exhibits Happening around LA
Matthew Thomas: Enlightenment
Ends Aug. 7: For over five decades, Matthew Thomas has developed a career as an artist and art professor, first in Los Angeles, and since 2011 in rural Thailand. In the late 1960s, Thomas began researching Eastern religions and philosophies and later studied Buddhist Tantra, a system of spiritual practice and meditation that has profoundly impacted his life and art. Inspired by his practice of the Buddhist religion, his multimedia works are filled with complex patterns that express his progress toward enlightenment and provide a path for others to experience the same. His unique visual language of sacred geometric abstraction, which integrates a variety of symbolic shapes and colors, explores basic life principles and correlates with the five elements of earth, fire, water, wind, and sky. Event details.
Andrea Bowers
Throughout Aug.: For more than 30 years, the Los Angeles–based artist Andrea Bowers (b. 1965, Wilmington, Ohio) has made art that activates. She combines artistic practice with activism and advocacy, speaking to deeply entrenched inequities as well as the generations of activists working to create a more just world. Bowers has built an international reputation as a chronicler of contemporary history, documenting activism as it unfolds and collecting research on the front lines of protest. Her practice contends with issues such as immigration rights, workers’ rights, climate justice, and women’s rights, illustrating the shared pursuit of justice that connects them. Event details.
Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse
Throughout Aug.: The first McQueen exhibition on the West Coast, Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse contextualizes the designer’s imaginative work within a canon of artmakers who drew upon analogous themes and visual references. Exploring imagination, artistic process, and innovation in fashion and art, the exhibition examines the interdisciplinary impulse that defined the designer’s career. Event details.
Fire, Science and Safety
Throughout Aug.: Set in a “typical” Los Angeles home presented as a training site for young “fire danger detectives.” Guests will find themselves at the Casa del Fuego Apartments, #911, where they can explore an immersive environment and engage in hands-on activities to learn about the science of fire, discover fire hazards and practice fire-safe behaviors. Going from one living space to another, visitors will have the opportunity to create a virtual “fire” out of different ingredients in a fire pit, practice fire-fighting skills using a fire extinguisher, and figure out which appliances might blow a circuit when used together. Event details.
Wende Museum
Throughout Aug.: The Medium is the Message: Flags and Banners: Originally used to identify soldiers in battle and ships in international waters, flags have represented large geographic territories since the rise of the nation-state beginning in the late eighteenth century. Like monuments and national anthems, they intend to create a sense of identity based on a shared past, present and future. Event details.
Museums in LA That Are Always Free
California African American Museum
Located in the heart of Exposition Park, California African American Museum (CAAM) is a hub for exploring and learning about the art, history and culture of the African-American diaspora in Los Angeles and beyond. Current exhibitions include Matthew Thomas: Enlightenment and For Race and Country: Buffalo Soldiers in California. Once things return to pre-pandemic life, the museum also offers kid-friendly art workshops inspired by the exhibits.
600 State Dr.
Los Angeles
Online: caamuseum.org
Roundhouse Aquarium
This always-free-to-enter aquarium, located on the Manhattan Beach Pier, is home to over 100 different species of marine life (most of whom call Santa Monica Bay home), has four galleries where kids can explore and learn about sea life as well as animal encounters with moray eels, rays, and octopi—not to mention get hands-on experience with starfish in the touch pools. The Roundhouse also offers summer beach camps and on-site classes for budding marine biologists (or any kid that just loves the water and all the animals that live in the sea).
2 Manhattan Beach Blvd.
Manhattan Beach
Online: roundhouseaquarium.org
The Broad
Giant teacups, massive balloon animals, Alice in Wonderland-esque splashes of color and the Infinity Room will convince any kiddo that contemporary art is where it’s at. The museum "For Families" guide offers a "scavenger hunt" and fun art-themed activities. For older kids, they can also download and listen to a free audio tour which includes family-friendly information about the art. Tickets are released on the last Wed. of each month at 10 a.m. PT for admission the following month.
221 S. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles
Online: thebroad.org
The Hammer Museum
In addition to offering free admission, this UCLA art museum regularly hosts pop-up art studios for little ones, family-friendly movie screenings and guided tours-plus-games for kids ages 7 and up. A visit to the relatively small yet impressive (and manageable!) museum will expose kids to a range of artwork, from 17th century Rembrandts to the more contemporary work of Kara Walker.
10899 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles
Online: hammer.ucla.edu
LACMA
Right in our home town is a world class museum that wants you to bring your kids so much that they created a fabulous program: LACMA NexGen membership where kids get in free along with one adult. It's a pretty amazing deal, especially when you realize that at LACMA, there are art exhibits that appeal to kids like rad modern art sculptures, a giant suspended rock and of course, every kid (and grown-up kids’) favorite, Metropolis II. There is also a painting studio in the Boone Gallery where your inspired little artists can create watercolor masterpieces and listen to story time. Tickets must be reserved in advance.
5900 Wilshire Blvd.
Miracle Mile
Online: lacma.org
The California Science Center
Where else can you see a space shuttle and a shark tank, not to mention play in one of three kids-only Discovery Rooms, explore rotating science exhibits and watch as baby chicks hatch? And all for free? Rainy days, hot days, vacation days, or just “I’m bored” days, the California Science Center is here for you. And, if you have a few extra bucks, you can round the day off with a spectacular 3D IMAX show.
700 Exposition Park Dr.
Los Angeles
Online: californiasciencecenter.org
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
Start your Aquarium visit with the sea stars in the simulated “tide pool touch tank” then spend your time winding through the thirty-eight aquaria. Don’t miss out on the favorite aquatic babies exhibit and let the little ones learn a little something at the research station. Be sure to look up and meet the giant whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling.
The museum is free for all but they do suggest a donation to help keep this wonderful community resource going. Parking is free and easy on the street or you can pay $1 per hour to park it right out front. The aquarium hosts loads of kid friendly activities and events, including the fabulous spring time grunion runs—a SoCal tradition.
Hours: Wed.—Sun. from noon to 5 p.m.
Check out these other noteworthy Los Angeles aquariums, many of which are also free!
3720 Stephen M. White Dr.
San Pedro
Online: cabrillomarineaquarium.org
La Brea Tar Pits
Next door to LACMA are the famous La Brea Tar Pits. While the Page Museum at the center will cost you an entrance fee (unless you visit on the first Tues. of the month when admission is free), there is plenty to explore around the tar pits and gardens that surround the museum.
Check out Ice Age plant life in the Pleistocene Garden, roll down the grassy hills and learn all about being a paleontologist with a peek inside Pit 91 and Project 23, which are still actively being excavated. No visit would be complete without snapping a selfie with those perpetually stuck elephants in the bubbling tar pit. Advance timed tickets are required.
5801 Wilshire Blvd.
Miracle Mile
Online: tarpits.org
The Griffith Observatory
Spend a day at the Griffith Observatory, poking through the exhibits, figuring out your weight on Jupiter, looking through the telescopes, having lunch in the cafeteria and gazing out from the terrace, where you can see the whole city below. Free public star parties are held monthly, where kids can meet professional and amateur astronomers. And don’t forget about the Planetarium! There are currently two live shows scheduled every 60-90 minutes daily, for just $3-$7 (it’s the only thing at the Observatory with a fee, and kids under 5 can only attend the first show of the day).
If the kiddos need a break, there are beautiful hiking trails behind the Observatory with breathtaking views of the Hollywood sign.
If you want to avoid the parking lot, which fills up fast on weekends, hike one of our favorite trails, Ferndell. Then when you hike back, reward yourself with coffee and pie.
Hours: Fri., noon-10 p.m.; Sat.—Sun., 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
2800 E. Observatory Rd.
Griffith Park
Online: griffithobservatory.org
Travel Town
Every mini engineer and trainspotter will have a blast exploring this outdoor transportation museum dedicated to all things trains. You can climb around on real steam locomotives, check out wagons and other antique vehicles in the barn and even go for a ride on a mini train that circles the park for just $3.
Pack some snacks and grab a seat on the lawn where you can wave at the train as it drives past.
Don't miss their docent-led tours are available by reservation. Check their events calendar for more great activities.
Insider Tip: You can throw birthday parties at Travel Town or hit the gift shop for an awesome gift for a train-themed birthday party or just because.
5200 Zoo Dr.
Griffith Park
Online: traveltown.org
LA's Central Library
If you have a budding bookworm at home then a visit to your local library is always treat and LA is full of some really special kids collections. Come for the books and stay for the free story time at dozens of Los Angeles Public Library branches, but the coolest by far is the Central Library downtown which houses a massive children’s literature department and hosts story times, puppet shows, and music.
Our other favorite spots are the Santa Monica Main Library and Beverly Hills Library, both of which have awesome collections and kids activities.
LAPL
630 W 5th St.
Downtown LA
Online: lapl.org
Santa Monica Library
Online: smpl.org
Beverly Hills Library
Online: beverlyhills.org/exploring/beverlyhillspubliclibrary
How to Explore More LA Museums for Free
With your LA County Library card, you can reserve family passes to local museums and cultural institutions for free through Discover & Go.
How to Reserve a Pass:
- Visit the Discover & Go portal and log in using your library card number and PIN.
- Browse by museum or date.
- Make a reservation by selecting a date and venue.
- Shortly before your visit, print out your pass. Note: You cannot cancel your passes once they have been printed.
- Enjoy your visit!
And another way to explore LA Museums for free? Check out these LA Museums & Botanical Gardens with Free Admission Dates!
Outdoor Activities around LA That Are Always Free
Investigate a New Playground
We've got a running list for the most fun playgrounds around LA—some may even be hiding in your own neighborhood. Check out these gems and never hear "I'm bored" again...almost.
Spend the Day at Grand Park
There's always something fun happening here! Home to one of our favorite fountains and splashpads (when it's open for waterplay), playgrounds and outdoor art exhibits makes Grand Park a fun and easy destination for everyone in the family to spend the day.
200 N Grand Ave.
Los Angeles
Online: grandparkla.org
Explore a New Neighborhood around LA
LA is about as diverse as you can get and there's no better place to explore all the different museums, street art, playgrounds, (and ice cream shops!) than in a neighborhood near you.
READ: Visit Visalia before the Rest of LA Discovers This Hidden Gem
Kid-Friendly Hikes Near LA
Leave Runyon to the tourists. Instead, take your little trekkers to one of these lesser known trails where the views are still Instagrammable, but the crowds won’t overwhelm you. From a hidden 58-acre park in Culver City to a natural preserve in Pasadena, here are our favorite, easy-to-moderate hikes the whole family will enjoy.
Easy Bike Trails for Families
So your two-wheelings tots have maxed out on riding around the block? Fortunately, LA’s beach bike paths—along with a few other car-free paths and trails—are open. Finally, kids can feel the wind in their hair, practice their pedaling and enjoy a change of scenery. If you’re looking to avoid crowds (um, yes please), we recommend visiting these routes during the week or early in the a.m. on weekends. Check out all of LA's best kid-friendly bike paths.
RELATED: The Best Kids Bikes & Tricycles for Every Kid & Stage
Dine at Hidden Picnic Spots
There’s no better time than now to dine outdoors with your family—and any other members of your quarantine pod. Spread out a blanket and enjoy a meal al fresco at these hidden LA picnic spots.
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