The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History will waive admission fees Saturday, Nov. 7, for a public event called "Free Day: Celebrate Oklahoma!"
The free day marks the anniversary of a bond election more than three decades ago in which Oklahoma voters approved funding for a state museum of natural history, Southwest Oklahoma News reported. Museum staff and leadership organized the event as a thank-you to the public for continued support, according to the report.
Visitors of all ages are welcome.
The museum sits at 2401 Chautauqua Ave. in Norman and is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to its website. Regular admission runs $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 65 and older, $7 for children ages 4 to 17 and free for children 3 and under. OU students get in free. For questions, residents can call (405) 325-7977.
The institution was established by the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature in 1899 and holds more than 10 million specimens and objects spanning life, earth and social sciences, according to a profile published in Sooner Magazine in Winter 2026. Director Janet Braun, who has been part of the museum since 1984 and took the director role in 2023, said in that profile that half a million school-age children have visited on field trips since 2000 and participated in nearly 5,000 educational programs.
"By spring, more than 3 million visitors will have been through our doors," Braun said in the March 2026 profile.
