Saturday Sept. 18 is Free Museum Day, an annual event sponsored by Smithsonian Magazine that offers free access to art shows across the country. Several Bay Area museums with awesome things to see are participating. Here is what you need to know.

The museum entries are free but you will need a ticket. Go to www.smithsonianmag.com and click on “Get a ticket.” From there you can search for the museum you want. You will need to enter your email address and the site will let you download one ticket for one museum per email address. The ticket admits two people. Admission is limited so it’s best to snag your tickets as soon as you can.

After you’ve gotten your ticket, it is a good idea to check the museum’s own website to review COVID safety precautions.

Here are some of the Bay Area museums participating in the event.

Bedford Gallery

Details: Located inside the Lesher Center for the Arts, Civic Drive at Locust Street, Walnut Creek; open noon-5 p.m.; www.bedfordgallery.org.

What you’ll see: “Reclaimed: The Art of Recology,” is an eye-popping collection of works  built from things that people threw out. Recology, the large San Francisco-based waste management and recycling firm, offers an artist-in-residence program that grants participants access to the aesthetic treasures (also known as trash) on its 47-acre landfill. At the Bedford, you’ll find works from quizzical to comical to poignant fashioned from pieces of golf carts, meat grinders, bullet shell casings, vacuum cleaners, denim slacks, computer cables, furniture, cars, and more.

Museum of Craft and Design

Details: 2569 Third St., San Francisco; open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; sfmcd.org.

What you’ll see: “Mode Brut” features a wide variety of works blending art and fashion  designed by some 50 artists with developmental disabilities, often in collaboration with other artists and designers. The collection is part of the museum’s Creativity Explored program, which creates artistic opportunities for people with disabilities. The exhibit “encourages viewers to consider the role fashion can play in responding to questions about accessibility, gender roles, and identity … .” says the museum’s website.

San Jose Museum of Art

Details: 110 South Market St., San Jose; open 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; sjmusart.org.

What you’ll see: “South East North West: Works from the Collection,” celebrating the museum’s 50th anniversary as well as several new additions to its permanent collection, features works by Diana Al-Hadid, Rina Banerjee, Victor Cartagena, Dinh Q. Lê, Louise Nevelson, and The Propeller Group (Matt Lucero, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, and Phunam), all of whom have been featured in solo shows at the museum. Another exhibit, “Break and Bleed,” examines works from the mid-20th-century post-Abstract Expressionism period, when “artists moved in a variety of directions, some in pursuit of paintings pure in color and open in composition while others toward structured, linear designs using familiar geometric shapes,” says the museum.

Di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art

Details: 200 Sonoma Hwy, Napa; open 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; www.dirosaart.org.

What you’ll see: The di Rosa celebrates iconic 20th-century Bay Area artist William T. Wiley, who died in April. In Gallery 1, an exhibit, “Fort Phooey: Wiley in the Studio,” re-creates the artist’s one-of-a-kind studio, a frequent hangout for Bay Area artists. The show features works from the di Rosa’s collection as well as items from Wiley’s estate. In Gallery 2 is the exhibit “The Incorrect Museum,” which, mirroring the di Rosa’s longstanding rebellious spirit, features works by such Bay Area artists as Bruce Conner, Robert Arneson and Roy De Forest, among others, that were considered out of touch with popular trends.