# Museum at the Gateway Arch: Free Underground Galleries & Westward Expansion Discovery

> Place to go for families in the St. Louis area (MO / IL). Times are Central Time.

- When: Daily 9:00 AM–6:00 PM (Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day)
- Where: Museum at the Gateway Arch, 11 N 4th St, St. Louis, MO 63102
- Ages: All ages; fully accessible for strollers and multi-generational family exploration
- Price: Free admission to the entire subterranean museum; optional ticket fees apply for Tram Ride to the Top
- Schedule: Daily 9:00 AM–6:00 PM (Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day)
- Organizer: National Park Service & Gateway Arch Park Foundation
- Official page: https://www.gatewayarch.com
- Last checked: Thu, Nov 5

Source: Grassy Knees is a directory of real family events, places and programs for kids across major U.S. metro areas, where every listing is researched from the organizer’s own page and shows the date we last checked it. https://grassyknees.com covers 42 metro areas as of Nov 11, 2026, with more added regularly. About: https://grassyknees.com/about
Freshness: listings are re-checked on a daily research run (latest check 2026-11-10), and new events are added as organizers post them. Sell-outs, weather cancellations and time changes show up on the live page first: https://grassyknees.com/st-louis/activities/museum-at-the-gateway-arch-free-underground-galleries-and-westward-exp--listing-6f7a46c37eb1ce0c95d5b89a

## About

Buried beneath the soaring 630-foot stainless steel Gateway Arch along the Downtown St. Louis riverfront, the Museum at the Gateway Arch is an expansive, subterranean cultural museum that underwent a massive $380 million modern expansion. Admission to the museum galleries is completely free, making it an extraordinary, climate-controlled destination for winter days.

Six interactive themed exhibit galleries trace over two centuries of westward expansion, river trade, and Indigenous Mississippian history through hands-on discovery stations, life-sized buffalo and covered wagon replicas, and interactive touchscreens. The museum is universally accessible via sweeping ADA ramps and elevators, with family restrooms with diaper changing stations, quiet nursing mother lounges, and airport-style security at the glass entrance pavilion.

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