The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opened to the public on September 22, 2026, as the Daily News reported from opening day. On November 13, the California Science Center opens the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, the permanent home of Space Shuttle Endeavour. Two major attractions opening within eight weeks of each other in the same park would be enough reason to go. The catch for anyone planning a visit this fall is the Coliseum and BMO Stadium, a few hundred yards away. Their event calendar now decides whether the new museum park is open to you, whether you can park, and whether you can turn left off Exposition Boulevard.
What you can use without a ticket, and when that changes
The Lucas Museum was designed to work as a public space as well as a museum. According to the museum's FAQ, the shop, café, restaurant, library, park and gardens do not require an admission ticket, subject to capacity controls. The surrounding 13-acre campus, designed by Mia Lehrer's Studio-MLA, has drought-tolerant plantings, more than 300 trees, a meadow, an amphitheater, a hanging garden and a waterfall fountain the museum calls "The Rain." The free outdoor sculpture collection includes Fernando Botero's Maternity and bronze Star Wars figures such as Padmé Fights Off Nexu and Princess Leia Frees Herself from Jabba the Hutt.
Access to those spaces now has conditions. An October 1 Los Angeles Times report found that fences were blocking the central plaza under the building on opening weekend, with visitors directed through two enclosed security booths. A museum spokesperson told the paper that visitors without tickets can still enter the plaza, café and shop after screening, pending capacity limits, and can walk into the adjacent park without screening. The same report said permanent stainless-steel fencing was planned for the coming weeks.
The Times report also laid out two rules that matter for planning:
- The Lucas park is open from 8 a.m. to sunset. People coming from the west outside those hours have to walk around the whole complex.
- On USC game days, the green space is closed to anyone without a museum ticket.
The Times called this an early snapshot, and the details may change as the permanent fencing goes in. As of early October, though, the free half of the Lucas is the half most affected by football.
The dates that crowd the park through December
These come from the USC Trojans schedule, LAFC's season announcement and the Exposition Park event calendar. All three are live pages and can change.
| Date | What's happening | Why it matters for a visit |
|---|---|---|
| Wed., Oct. 14 | LAFC vs. Austin FC, 7:30 p.m. | Evening crowds; South Coliseum Drive closures begin five hours before kickoff |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | ATLiens concert | Large evening event |
| Fri.–Sat., Oct. 23–24 | Gryffin, two nights; Angel City FC vs. Bay FC Oct. 24 at 5:45 p.m. | Two events on one Saturday evening |
| Sun., Oct. 25 | LAFC vs. LA Galaxy, 6 p.m. | Rivalry match crowd |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Expo Center Halloween Festival | Family crowds |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | USC vs. Ohio State, kickoff TBD; LAFC vs. Minnesota United, 5:30 p.m. | USC game day rules plus a soccer match |
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Día de los Muertos | Park event |
| Fri.–Sun., Nov. 13–15 | Air and Space Center opens; opening weekend event Nov. 14–15 | Heaviest museum demand of the season |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | USC vs. Maryland, kickoff TBD | USC game day rules |
| Fri.–Sat., Nov. 27–28 | CIFSS Football Championship; Ray Volpe | Holiday weekend events |
| Sat., Dec. 5 and Sat., Dec. 12 | Insomniac concert, artist TBA; John Summit at the Coliseum, 5–11 p.m. | Evening events |
| Fri.–Sat., Dec. 18–19 | Unnamed "contracted major event" at the Coliseum | Details not disclosed |
October 31 is the hardest day of the fall. The Exposition Park listing for the Minnesota match says November 1, but its ticket link and LAFC's own announcement both say Halloween, so check with the club before you plan around it. MLS has also published playoff windows from November 18 to the MLS Cup on December 18. A home playoff match at BMO Stadium in that window would add another crowded date to the table.
What a USC game day changes
The football Saturdays affect more than the Lucas park. USC's 2026 game-day guidance says most traffic into Exposition Park is right-turn only, left-turn pockets close, and park lots are permit-only with no cash parking. After the game, Exposition Boulevard, Figueroa Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Flower Street close temporarily, starting at the end of the third quarter and lasting about an hour after the final whistle. Kickoff times for both remaining home games, Ohio State and Maryland, were still listed as TBD, so the closure windows can't be predicted yet.
On a normal day, the museum lists two underground garages on the Lucas campus, Orange and Red, entered from Bill Robertson Lane south of Exposition Boulevard. The park also has four other lots. Parking costs $20 per day, or $24 for entry after 5 p.m. The museum says parking depends on capacity and on other Exposition Park events, and it recommends transit or rideshare when parking is tight. Metro lists Expo/Vermont as the closest E Line station, and Metro's Lucas Museum page puts it about a seven-minute walk from the museum entrance. The rideshare and ADA drop-off is on Bill Robertson Lane, across from the Natural History Museum.
Inside the Lucas, on a quiet weekday
Once you're past the gates, the Lucas is a big museum. The opening presentation covers more than 1,300 works in more than 30 galleries. It starts on the first floor with The History of Narrative Art: Heroes • Myths • The Sacred, which includes reproductions of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the Altamira cave paintings and the Aztec Sun Stone. The upper floors are organized by theme and medium, including comics, manga, photography and murals, with artists from Vincent van Gogh and Jacob Lawrence to George Herriman, Charles Schulz, Diego Rivera and Judith F. Baca. The Los Angeles Times' guide to the galleries highlights Star Wars in Motion, which includes Luke's Landspeeder and the first physical build of General Grievous' Wheel Bike. It also points to Norman Rockwell's The Problem We All Live With and Shuffleton's Barbershop and Frida Kahlo's Self Portrait Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser.
Adult admission is $25 and seniors 65 and older pay $21. Children 17 and under, members, active-duty military and LM37 passholders get in free. Everyone needs an advance timed-entry reservation, including infants and members. California EBT cardholders get free general admission with a reservation. The museum is closed Tuesdays. It's open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, with last entry 45 minutes before closing. On a weekday with nothing at the stadiums, the plaza, park and garages are dealing only with museum visitors.
There are two places to eat. Skywalker Grill is the rooftop restaurant, open to the public and serving lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, according to the Los Angeles Times. It is run by Rhubarb Hospitality Collection and Oak View Group, with culinary director Diego Cardoso and chef Ryan Kluver running the kitchen. The Grill stays open until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and until 8 p.m. on other open days. Like the museum, it's closed Tuesdays. The lobby café is the casual option, with pizza, tacos, salads and sandwiches, including a $2 grilled cheese.
Endeavour's new home, and why November 13 is not the day to go
The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center has three galleries: the Samuel Oschin Shuttle Gallery, the Kent Kresa Space Gallery and the Korean Air Aviation Gallery. The Science Center says the expansion nearly doubles its exhibit space and shows Endeavour upright in launch position. General admission is free. The Science Center strongly encourages timed reservations for the Air and Space Center, charges a small service fee for them, and warns that because of expected demand, entry may be extremely limited or unavailable without one. Members get to reserve before the general public. The fee and the date reservations open to the public had not been published when this was written. The Science Center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Opening week stacks several events on top of each other. The park calendar lists a donor event on November 13, an opening-weekend event on November 14 and 15, and NightTales, an illuminated evening experience with timed entry at 6 and 7:30 p.m., starting November 12. One week later, on November 21, USC hosts Maryland.
A simple way to plan your visits
- Pick a Monday, Wednesday or Thursday for the Lucas galleries. All three are museum days, and the only midweek stadium event in the table is LAFC on the evening of Wednesday, October 14.
- Save Friday and Saturday nights for Skywalker Grill and the late gallery hours, after checking the table above for concerts and matches.
- Reserve your Air and Space slot as soon as reservations open, and aim for a weekday after opening weekend.
- Pair the visit with the Natural History Museum across the street. It offers $5 off adult admission and $3 off for children, students and seniors within 30 days of a Lucas visit, through December 31, 2026.
- Finish at the Exposition Park Rose Garden, open daily from 8:30 a.m. to dusk.
The park's monthly calendar at expositionpark.ca.gov is the page to check before every trip, because that schedule controls the gates, lots and street closures around both new attractions.
With the Lucas open and Endeavour's new gallery a month away, the blocks around Exposition Park will see more visitors on more days of the week. If you own property near the park, or are thinking about it, and want a calm read on what that foot traffic means for your street, Tholfaqar Al Emara is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
