Reciprocal museum memberships: where your card gets you in free
Your museum, zoo or garden membership already includes free entry to hundreds of other places through reciprocal programs. Tell us where you are a member and we will show you everywhere else that same card works.
Tell us where you are a member
Nothing selected, showing everythingOpen any place you hold a membership to and press "I'm a member here." We will work out which reciprocal programs that gives you, and show you everywhere else the card works. Or pick your programs directly below.
Traveling is where reciprocity earns its keep. Most programs exclude venues close to home, so search the city you are visiting rather than the one you live in.
Reciprocal places to explore
Search a city or ZIP to see which places there take your cardPrograms and their own rules can and do change venues either way. Bring your membership card and photo ID, and it is worth a quick call before a long drive.
How reciprocal memberships work
A reciprocal program is an agreement between institutions. If the museum, zoo, science center or garden where you hold a membership belongs to one, your existing card is honored at the other members of that program, normally for free general admission. You do not join the programs and you are not issued another card. The one in your wallet is the one that works.
We track seven of them and check every listing on this site against the official member rosters, so the badge on a place is only there because that place is genuinely on the list.
The programs we track
Program rules from ASTC and NARM. Counts are places in our own directory, not the size of each program.
A page for each program
Each of these lists every place we carry in that program, state by state.
NARM
Art, history and cultural institutions · 1,022 places
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Time Travelers
History museums, historical societies and heritage sites · 524 places
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AHS Garden Network
Botanical gardens and arboreta · 412 places
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ASTC Passport Program
Science centers and science museums · 355 places
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ROAM
Museums of all kinds, usually at higher membership levels · 332 places
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ACM Reciprocal Network
Children's museums · 212 places
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AZA Reciprocal Admissions
Accredited zoos and aquariums · 132 places
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Common questions
What is a reciprocal museum membership?▾
It is a benefit attached to a membership you already hold. Join one museum, zoo or garden that belongs to a reciprocal program, and your card also gets you free or discounted entry at the other institutions in that program. You do not buy the program itself, and there is no separate card: the one from your home institution is what you show.
Does my membership work at museums near my home?▾
Usually not, and this is the rule that catches families out. ASTC Passport excludes any science center within 90 miles of your home or your home institution. NARM excludes institutions within 15 miles of the institution where you are a member. The benefit is built for travel, so the further you go the more it is worth.
How do I know which reciprocal programs my membership includes?▾
Look at your membership card for a program logo, or check your home institution's membership page, since reciprocal benefits often start at a specific membership level. On this site you can open the place you are a member of and press "I'm a member here", and we work out which programs that gives you from what we know about that venue.
Do I need the physical card, or is a digital one enough?▾
Digital membership cards are accepted. NARM and ASTC both say to show your digital card with the program logo, together with photo ID. The card must be the one issued by your home institution, not a screenshot of a list.
What does the membership actually cover?▾
General admission, normally for the people named on the card. Special exhibitions, planetarium and large-format theater shows, parking and store discounts are usually excluded unless the venue says otherwise. Guests are not included unless they hold a valid card too. Some programs, AZA and ACM among them, give a discount rather than free entry.
Should I call ahead?▾
Before a long drive, yes. Every program says so, because individual venues set their own limits and can change them, and a venue can leave a program before every list is updated. A two-minute call saves a two-hour round trip.