Iowa's art museums are a budget traveler's dream. Two of the state's best — the Des Moines Art Center, with its Eliel Saarinen and I.M. Pei wings, and the University of Iowa's Stanley Museum of Art in Iowa City — are free every day, as are the state history museum and a string of campus and city museums. The museums that do charge tend to give a night away each week: the Figge in Davenport and the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art are both free on Thursday evenings, and the Dubuque Museum of Art opens free on First Fridays. So a little planning turns almost any Iowa art stop into a free one. Every entry below was checked against the museum's own admission page.
A few extra angles: the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art runs a free-admission-all-summer program most years (now in its 16th), so check before you pay between June and August. The Figge gives free admission to seniors on the first Thursday of the month and free entry to EBT cardholders year-round. Statewide, SNAP/EBT cardholders get free or $1–3 admission at most Iowa museums through Museums for All, and the Pappajohn Sculpture Park in downtown Des Moines — a free, open-air gallery of blue-chip sculpture — is open 24/7 at no cost. Note that the Dubuque Museum of Art is currently operating in a temporary downtown space while between buildings.
Quad Cities & Eastern Iowa
Figge Art Museum
Regularly $14 adultsThe Quad Cities' glassy riverfront art museum, designed by David Chipperfield, is free for everyone every Thursday evening from 5 to 8 p.m., with the galleries open, the Figge Bar serving, and something programmed at 6. Regular admission is otherwise $14. Seniors get in free on the first Thursday of each month, and EBT cardholders are free year-round through Museums for All. The museum is closed Mondays.
🌐 Check current dates →Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (CRMA)
Regularly $10 adultsHome to the world's largest collection of Grant Wood and Marvin Cone, the CRMA waives admission for everyone every Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m., sponsored by Collins Aerospace. Regular admission is $10 ($9 seniors, $8 college students, $5 ages 6–18, free for kids 5 and under). Parking in the museum lot off Second Avenue is free, and the museum is closed Mondays.
🌐 Check current dates →Dubuque Museum of Art
Regularly $12 adultsIowa's oldest cultural institution holds a strong collection of Grant Wood and Edward Steichen. It opens free to everyone on First Fridays, staying open late until 7 p.m. Youth 18 and under, active military, and SNAP/EBT cardholders are free any day. Heads up: the museum is currently operating in a temporary space in the Dupaco Voices Building at 1000 Jackson Street while between permanent locations, so confirm hours before you go.
🌐 Check current dates →Always Free in Iowa
No free day needed — these flagship museums never charge general admission.
Free days that recently ended
Still listed on many older round-ups — verified gone as of June 2026:
- Dubuque Museum of Art — free Thursdays — Ended — the Dubuque Museum of Art's all-day free Thursdays no longer appear on its admission page; its free day for everyone is now First Fridays (with extended evening hours). Many round-ups still list the old Thursday deal.