How an NYC library card can get you into museums for free

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - A new program gives you a chance to get lost in some of New York's greatest institutions for free.

If you want to visit the Guggenheim, the new Whitney, the Met, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the Morgan Library, and many other cultural institutions in all five boroughs, now all you need is a library card from one of New York's public library systems and something called Culture Pass.

The New York Public Library's Johannes Neuer explained that Culture Pass is a new program, which launched July 16, that allows free access to museums around New York City. The program will hand out 58,000 passes annually at a value of more than $2 million a year.

If you have a library card from the New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, or Queens Library, all you need to do is register online.

The objective is to bring the arts to New Yorkers who may overlook these educational offerings. In fact, half of the passes given will go to underserved communities.

So if the Intrepid, the Cooper Hewitt, or the Guggenheim are on your must-see list and you live or work in New York City, this may be your chance to indulge, at no cost.

You can use the Culture Pass as many times as you want but you can make only two reservations at a time. The program is funded for three years but the hope is for it to go on indefinitely.