College Night 2024, an after-hours party, is the Getty Center's spirited gift to students

Local cultural gems have a really nice — and we really mean that "really" there — way of showing college students a great, mind-growing, spirit-lifting time, all the time.

That is true pretty much any day of the year, or any day that our regional museums are open.

You might spy a student roaming the galleries, pausing before powerful paintings, and taking a few notes, or sketches, or both, for an important assignment.

But while Southern California's eminent art institutions possess a knack for welcoming learners for a lively look-around, they often offer free events, parties with music and more, that are created just for college students.

That's about to take place at the Getty Center, where College Night 2024 will unfurl, with music, socializing, and scholastic spunk, on Monday, April 15.

It's free and open to all college scholars who show their student identification.

The Getty Center is encouraging all attendees to give the museum a heads-up beforehand; RSVP now to secure your place at the party.

The hilltop destination's world-famous galleries will be humming for the after-hours event, but soaking in the priceless sights isn't the only pastime you'll want to pursue; there are chances to make art, participate in large-scale lawn games like a colossal Connect Four, fashion your own cool and quirky crafts with Forager Crafts, and savor some sounds courtesy of a KCRW DJ SiLVA.

And at 8 o'clock, Native American artist Elisa Hawkins will perform.

The take-home "keepsakes" from the magical, memory-making night will be plentiful: Beeswax candles at the craft station are one tempting treasure as are photos at the various snapshot stations.

Also free for College Night? Parking. This isn't usually the case with the free-to-enter, though-not-park, museum, so students are encouraged to enjoy this rare freebie.

Exhibitions on view during College Night include a show devoted to celebrated sculptor Camille Claudel and "Drawing on Blue," which will also inspire a drawing booth "that captures guests in a digital composition in blue."

"Since 2006, we've welcomed thousands of college students each year from across Southern California to our sites for an exciting evening filled with art, music, food, and more," says Greg Sandoval, senior public programs specialist at the Getty Museum.

"Whether majoring in art, history, chemistry, or library science — all students are welcome and encouraged to join the festivities."

Save your spot with the Getty Center now, college students, if you'd like to revel in this Monday of marvels; think of it as a spirited space where art, music, magic lanterns, photo booths, oversized chess, food, and joy imaginatively intersect, the kind of scene that can only enrich a busy learner's approach to life.