Free things to do in Los Angeles this month

Santa Monica’s Heal the Bay Aquarium is hosting a free afternoon of educational activities a year out from the wildfires. See an 18-foot-long map of the Palisades Fire’s impact, hear about post-fire water quality and learn how to protect the coast going forward. The aquarium’s aquatic residents will also be in attendance—you can touch a shark and meet new baby sunflower sea stars. DJ and environmental advocate Heidi Lawden, who was herself displaced by the fires, will be on hand for some music, movement and guided meditations.

The L.A. Department of Cultural Affairs and Asian makers’ market MAUM are teaming up to present the fourth annual Lunar Block Party in North Hollywood, celebrating Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese cultures. Welcome in the new and good at the free community event, which will fill Lankershim Boulevard (between Otsego Street and Magnolia Boulevard) with arts and crafts for kids, shopping at MAUM market, cultural performances, Asian-owned food trucks and more.

The Hillside Campus of Pasadena’s ArtCenter College of Design is hosting this morning of reflection to mark the one-year anniversary of the Palisades and Eaton fires. In an act of rebuilding and hope for the future, attendees will help plant poppies on the campus as part of the Great Altadena Poppy Project, which aims to plant 250 million California poppy seeds in areas impacted by the Eaton fire. Our state flower is known for its resilience and its ability to thrive in challenging conditions—a beautifully apt metaphor here. Note: Closed-toe shoes and long pants are recommended if you want to help plant.

What today is the Annenberg Community Beach House was originally the coastal home of silent film star and hostess extraordinaire Marion Davies. And the city of Santa Monica is celebrating her birthday this month with a free open house that will take you back to the golden age of Hollywood: Think live swing music, dance lessons, an Art Deco fashion show and tours of the still-standing Marion Davies Guest House. Vintage 1920s or 1930s attire is encouraged; RSVPs to the free event are requested.

Anonymous feminist art collective the Guerrilla Girls—whose members gained notoriety for donning gorilla masks and fighting the patriarchy—is coming up on its 40th anniversary, and the Getty Center is marking the occasion with a behind-the-scenes look at the group. See photography, protest art and the group’s famed posters—sporting statistics, bold visuals and satirical humor—that showcase the tactics the members used to demand recognition for women and artists of color. The Guerrilla Girls have even created a newly commissioned work for the exhibition. And you can add your own mark on the “graffitti wall” installation, giving visitors a creative outlet for their complaints about the world today. 

Japan House Los Angeles is bringing an exhibition of shokuhin sampuru—hyper-realistic food replicas that have crossed over from marketing tool to art form (think Is It Cake? but cultural)—to Los Angeles for the first time. See mouthwatering faux food representing each of Japan’s 47 prefectures, from coffee house parfaits to izakaya skewers, as well as Chinese and Western cuisine, and try your own hand at food presentation by filling a bentō box yourself.

The California Science Center is inviting kids to get in the game with a new 17,000-square-foot exhibition about the power of play and the human body in motion. Besides teaching about the science behind sports, it also offers interactive challenges and video coaching from a team of Los Angeles-based mentor athletes including dancer Debbie Allen, the Dodgers’ World Series hero Freddie Freeman, Olympic medalist softball player Rachel Garcia and more. And for the first time ever, the center has commissioned public art—all by local artists—to complement the exhibition, including a Dodgers mural by Gustavo Zermeño Jr. The free exhibition will run at the Science Center through the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Robert Therrien’s Under the Table has long been one of the most popular pieces in the Broad’s collection (you know the one—the giant table and chairs that you ask your friend to snap a photo of as you stand underneath). Well now the museum is hosting the largest-ever solo exhibition of the artist’s work, displaying more than 120 pieces, including many that have never been shown in museums before. Expect more huge housewares and striking works, plus some intimate drawings and surprises from the late L.A.-based artist. While tickets for the special exhibition normally cost $19, it’s free to visit every Thursday from 5–8pm.

Dealing with a difficult subject head-on, the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA’s new show, “Monuments”—co-presented by the museum and nonprofit the Brick (formerly LAXART)—juxtaposes both intact and vandalized Confederate monuments with contemporary artwork. The show looks at the recent wave of monument removals from a historic perspective and encourages discourse about challenging topics amid an ongoing national debate about the role of these statues and what they represent. Tickets for the special exhibition are typically $18, though if you book far enough ahead of time, you can take advantage of free admission on the first Friday of every month.

The Skirball’s latest pop culture exhibition takes a deep dive into the six-decade career of legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby. You might know him as the co-creator of Captain America, Black Panther, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and some of the Marvel universe’s most cosmic characters. But did you know he was also a first-generation Jewish American born to immigrant parents, World War II veteran and family man who split his time between New York and Los Angeles? Learn about his life and see Kirby’s original comic illustrations, as well as other works—many on view for the first time. Tickets to the Skirball will cost you $18—except on Thursdays, when entry is free with a reservation.