Explore Balboa Park

Explore Balboa Park The Balboa Park Explorer Annual Pass gets you special access to San Diego's crown jewel with exclusive perks, events, and news!

The Balboa Park Explorer Annual Pass gets you into amazing museums and more for 365 days! Enjoy exclusive perks, discounts, and invites to special events in addition to personalized staff recommendations and monthly tailored newsletters bringing you the latest in Park news, events, and programs! With your Annual Pass you have the opportunity to explore the rich cultural and artistic offerings of B

alboa Park in an easy and affordable way. Rather than pay different admission rates at each museum, you can choose from our convenient Annual Pass options, saving you time and money. Choose what you want to explore, when you want to explore it! Interested in purchasing an Explorer? Buy it on our website, through any Explorer kiosk in the lobby of all participating museums, or at the Balboa Park Visitors Center.

All for One and FUN for All with the Balboa Park Explorer Pass! Save on admission to 16 museums in the Balboa Park Cultu...
05/28/2026

All for One and FUN for All with the Balboa Park Explorer Pass! Save on admission to 16 museums in the Balboa Park Cultural District. Choose from our annual, one-day, or multi-day Explorer Pass options. ⁠
Learn more at BuyMyExplorer.com.

Participating Museums:
• Centro Cultural de la Raza
• Fleet Science Center
• ICA San Diego, Central Campus
• Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum
• Mingei International Museum
• Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art
• Museum of Us
• San Diego Air & Space Museum
• San Diego Automotive Museum
• San Diego History Center
• San Diego Model Railroad Museum
• San Diego Natural History Museum
• The San Diego Museum of Art
• Timken Museum of Art
• The Veterans Museum at Balboa Park
• WorldBeat Center

A new exhibition is at San Diego Natural History Museum, and it’s trash (literally).“Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea”...
05/27/2026

A new exhibition is at San Diego Natural History Museum, and it’s trash (literally).

“Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea” features larger-than-life sculptures of marine creatures made from plastic waste collected along shorelines. Visitors will explore an immersive exhibition featuring whimsical creatures like Finn the mako shark, elegant blooms of jellyfish, and a massive whale ribcage—all made from ocean debris.

Plastics have entered every marine ecosystem in the world, including San Diego’s waterways. These striking works of art, once trash polluting the world’s oceans, serve as a reminder of the impact we have on nature and how art can empower communities to make a difference.

This exhibit is included with the Balboa Park Explorer Pass. Learn more about the museum pass: explorer.balboapark.org/rediscover-balboa-park

In a major win for Balboa Park advocates and the San Diego community, City and civic leaders have announced that paid pa...
05/21/2026

In a major win for Balboa Park advocates and the San Diego community, City and civic leaders have announced that paid parking in Balboa Park will officially come to an end no later than Jan. 1, 2027.

Every call, every petition, every public comment, and every conversation mattered. This was truly a community effort, and this announcement would not have happened without the sustained advocacy and grassroots support of so many people who care deeply about Balboa Park.

Paid parking created a real financial barrier that discourages families, seniors, students, and residents on fixed incomes from visiting what has always been our shared civic space.

The agreement is a much needed reprieve for San Diego’s arts and culture community in Balboa Park, facing the double punch of paid parking and Mayor Todd Gloria's proposed gutting of arts and culture funding grants.

The Balboa Park Cultural Partnership will continue to monitor as implementation details continue to emerge.

Read the full press release from the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership at https://www.savebalboapark.org/updates/may202026

Planning a visit to the Balboa Park Cultural District this Memorial Day weekend? 🇺🇸Before you go, check which Balboa Par...
05/21/2026

Planning a visit to the Balboa Park Cultural District this Memorial Day weekend? 🇺🇸

Before you go, check which Balboa Park Explorer participating museums will be open during your visit. We’ve gathered Memorial Day weekend museum schedules all in one place, along with links to each museum’s homepage where you can view current hours of operation.

Please note: Museum schedules are subject to change at any time. We recommend contacting each museum directly for the latest information before your visit.

Parking is free in Balboa Park on all city-observed holidays– including Memorial Day: Monday, May 25.

https://explorer.balboapark.org/plan-my-visit/ -holiday-schedule

Put engineering into action with at the Robo Battles Workshop! On May 30, drop in from 1 – 4 PM at the San Diego History...
05/21/2026

Put engineering into action with at the Robo Battles Workshop!

On May 30, drop in from 1 – 4 PM at the San Diego History Center for free and family-friendly RoboBattles workshop hosted by the Grant Imahara STEAM Foundation.

In this hands-on environment, young builders can design and customize their own LEGO® robots before putting them to the test in friendly arena battles. It’s an immersive experience designed to show kids that curiosity and collaboration are the heart of science and technology.

While you’re there, check out the "San Diego Women in STEM: Creativity and Curiosity" exhibit.

Workshop participation and museum entry is FREE (donations are appreciated). No registration required.

LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this event. Images courtesy of the Grant Imahara STEAM Foundation.

05/21/2026

Behind-the-scenes look at the installation of Mingei International Museum’s newest exhibit “India Thompson: Looks Like Home.” Now on exhibit through Oct. 18, 2026.

Mingei is excited to finally share these intricately woven reed sculptures with you. Some of these to-scale pieces took months of meticulous planning and hand-weaving to complete.

India Thompson explores emotional attachment to the ordinary domestic objects in places we call home during the age of renting. By meticulously weaving works from reed, the artist creates versions of her apartment’s contents, unpacking what it means to live in a space that is not legally hers. Thompson transforms familiar, perhaps oft-overlooked, forms we depend on in our daily routine—such as a microwave, toilet, or refrigerator—into poignant sculptural pieces.

This exhibit is included with the Balboa Park Explorer Pass.

Pick up a scavenger hunt at the Balboa Park Visitors Center for a chance to win a 4-pack of Balboa Park Explorer Limited...
05/14/2026

Pick up a scavenger hunt at the Balboa Park Visitors Center for a chance to win a 4-pack of Balboa Park Explorer Limited Passes. To enter the raffle, return your completed scavenger hunt to the Balboa Park Visitors Center. Prizes will be drawn at 3 PM every day and winners will be contacted via email.You do not have to be present to win.

The Balboa Park Explorer Limited Pass includes one admission to your choice of up to four participating museums. Limited Passes are valid for one day only– starting on the day of first use. Seven-day and annual passes are also available. Learn more at BuyMyExplorer.com

Now on Exhibit at the Japanese Friendship Garden and Museum— “Chiho Harazaki: Ingrained Patterns”This exhibition explore...
05/12/2026

Now on Exhibit at the Japanese Friendship Garden and Museum— “Chiho Harazaki: Ingrained Patterns”

This exhibition explores the emotional weight of traditional Japanese motifs—forms that embody both beauty and constraint. For artist Chicho Harazaki, these patterns evoke a quiet melancholy, like unremovable tattoos ingrained in the body, symbolizing values and expectations absorbed over time.

“Ingrained Patterns” is included with Garden admission and Balboa Park Explorer Pass.

Exhibit open through July 26.

Image:
Ingrained – Sashiko (Seigaiha), 2024. 20” x 20” Graphite, washi tape on canvas

05/07/2026

This spring and summer, as a gesture of support for our community, Mini Mingei is now FREE for all families. 🧡

Bring your littlest creatives (ages 2–5) to the Mingei International Museum to explore toddler-centered folk art, crafts, and design — perfect for parents, grandparents, and caregivers.

Free Mini Mingei dates:
🔹May 15
🔹June 5
🔹July 17
🔹August 7
🔹August 21

🔗 RSVP and learn more at Mingei.org/Whats-On

Address

1549 El Prado
San Diego, CA
92101

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9am - 4:30pm
Friday 9am - 4:30pm
Saturday 9am - 4:30pm
Sunday 9am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+16192327502

Website

https://explorer.balboapark.org/

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