San Diego’s North County Times published this great summary of the Museum Month opportunity in San Diego this February with discounted admissions to museums of all kinds across the county.

Museum Month, allowing visitors to most museums in the county to receive half-off regular admission prices, began in 1989, and is going stronger then ever. Last year, more than 19,000 visitors took advantage of Museum Month — double the number of visitors only four years ago.

 
While you can find full details online at www.sandiegomuseumcouncil.org, check out this list of museum participants– we love the near universal participation in this promotion for improving access to our cultural treasures at a time when more potential audience members than ever are feeling the pressure to reduce expenditures on entertainment and enrichment.
 

Participating museums and historical sites:

Adobe Chapel Museum

Barona Cultural Center & Museum

Birch Aquarium at Scripps

Bonita Museum & Cultural Center

California Center for the Arts, Museum (Feb. 13-28)

Coronado Museum of History & Art

Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum

Heritage of the Americas Museum

La Jolla Historical Society

LUX Art Institute

Maritime Museum of San Diego

Marston House

MCRD Command Museum

Mingei International Museum

Mingei International Museum North County

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego – Downtown

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego – La Jolla (Feb. 21-28)

Museum of Making Music

Museum of Photographic Arts

Oceanside Museum of Art

Old Town San Diego Historic Park

San Diego (Quail) Botanical Gardens

Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

San Diego Air & Space Museum

San Diego Archaeological Center

San Diego Automotive Museum

San Diego Hall of Champions Sports Museum

San Diego Historical Society Museum & Research Archives

San Diego Model Railroad Museum

San Diego Museum of Art

San Diego Museum of Man

San Diego Natural History Museum

Tijuana Estuary Visitors Center

Timken Museum of Art

USS Midway Museum

Veteran’s Museum & Memorial Center

Water Conservation Garden

Whaley House

Women’s History Museum & Education Center

 
Way to go, San Diego museums and cultural institutions!

So you are planning a vacation with your teens and want to be sure they do more than lay on the beach and text their friends back home.
Consider an arts and culture tour of San Diego designed with teens in mind.
 
Most all San Diego arts organizations have special programs designed for ages 11-17. To make it more fun, hop on the Old Town Trolley and make the tour itself an adventure. When the ride is as fun as the destination, your teens are sure to stop tweeting and start exploring.
 
Kid-friendly arts and culture venues throughout Balboa Park and Downtown are accessible by the Trolley. Get started in front of ARTS TIX at Horton Plaza and check out that evening’s half-price Theater, Music and Dance tickets.
 

Arts & Culture Venues for Teens Visiting San Diego

Reuben H. Fleet Science Center/IMAX Theater- features more than 100 interactive science exhibits in five galleries, as well as major traveling exhibitions.

• San Diego Model Railroad Museum – featuring the largest indoor model railroad display in the world.
• San Diego Natural History Museum – exhibits for the naturalist or environmentalist in your family. Learn about the diversity of Southern California and Baja California
• Read more great art stuff for teens in San Diego here.

 
Also, several museums have specialized programs designed for that hard to please age. The San Diego Museum of Art has the Teen Art Café, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego teen programs are designed by teens themselves and the New Children’s Museum Teen Studio is only open to ages 11 and older.

A nighttime option is to invite your teens to “see themselves” on stage by attending performances by the ultra-talented youth from the San Diego Youth Symphony, Eveoke Dance Theater, J*Company, or San Diego Junior Theater.
 
Check the full article at SanDiego.org for links to addresses, phone numbers, opening hours, and of course, links to the websites of these (and more) San Diego arts & culture destinations.

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Balboa Park Halloween Family Day

Here’s a list of the museums in Balboa Park offering special admission as part of Halloween Family Day this weekend in San Diego.

Get the complete scoop on theBalboa Park website.

Mingei International Museum– Papel picado (Mexican cut paper) crafts 12-4pm

Museum of Photographic Arts– Film in collaboration with San Diego Children’s Film Festival “Coraline” (2009) (recommended for ages 8 and up), 2pm

Museum of San Diego History–Create unique hats using historic photographs of vintage hats as inspiration in collaboration with the exhibition San Diego Style. (11am-3pm)

Reuben H. Fleet Science Center– Science-themed pumpkin contest, 20% off admission, galleries or IMAX for adults 18+ … 17 and under receive free gallery admission and IMAX for only $8.50

San Diego Air and Space Museum–build paper pumpkins with parachutes at 12:30 and 2:30pm. At 2pm the Great (real) Pumpkin will plunge off the roof attached to a da Vinci-style parachute. Also see the special exhibition To the Moon: Snoopy Soars with NASA.

San Diego Automotive Museum–Scavenger hunt with a prize

San Diego Model Railroad Museum–Thomas the Tank Engine Astro Jump & Engineer Trick or Treat bags (11am-3pm)

San Diego Museum of Art–“New Village Art Theatre” performs scenes from upcoming production (1-1:30pm); Search & Find Tour and art making activities (1-3pm).

San Diego Museum of Man– Day of the Dead activities include: make your own Day of the Dead altar, a special docent-led Spooky Tour in the Ancient Egypt Gallery, and light refreshments

San Diego Natural History Museum–Howl-O-Ween Family Day. Inspect arthropods, raptors, and reptiles—spooky specimens alive and dead! Make a bat craft, and march in a costume parade after each Ms. Frizzle™ Bats are Beautiful performances at 12 and 2pm (parades are at 12:30 & 2:50pm). Children 12 and younger can enter a costume contest to win a free Family Membership to the museum.

San Diego Youth Symphony – Watch open rehearsals as San Diego’s finest young musicians prepare for the Celebration of Music Concert. In Casa del Prado from 8:30am-6:45pm

San Diego Zoo–Come visit the special booth on El Prado near the Balboa Park Visitors Center with creepy, crawly bugs, 11:30-12:30pm and more animals scheduled throughout the day. Also at the Zoo, children under 12 free with paid adult admission.

SDAI: Museum of the Living Artist–“Art Box 2” for children to discover elements found in art.

Spanish Village Art Center–Artists turn pumpkins into magical Jack O’Lanterns on the patio. Free drawings for the Jack O’Lanterns throughout the day. Tin can painting and wooden ornament craft-making. “Fish” for free treasures at the “Fishin’ Place”.