Get the Most Out of Your Museum Membership

One of the true blessings of our modern world is the opportunity for everyone to learn.  As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I'm a history teacher, and I love using our vacations as a chance for the two of us to get away and learn more about the history of the places we're visiting.  While museums have been around in some form for centuries, it wasn't until the 19th Century that cities, states, and even nations began establishing them to document their history.  Now, there are museums of some form in almost every town in the nation.  There are museums for just about everything you can imagine from local history, national history, natural history, art, science, and sports.  There are even museums for things that you may never have believed would have needed to be preserved like the Instant Ramen Noodle Museum and the Museum of Toilets. 

Museums are always a wonderful way to spend a day in a city you're visiting, but for some the cost of entering a museum, especially with a family, can be a sizable investment.  One of the hidden benefits of most modern museums though is that if you join one museum, you just unknowingly joined hundreds of them, especially in North America.  There are several competing organizations that offer reciprocal benefits for members of one museum at other museums, but the good thing is many of these museums are members of multiple membership organizations.  All you need to do is show up to the museum you want to visit, show them your membership card from the museum you're a member of, and that's it, you're in for free.  While there are some rare exceptions where the reciprocal privilege only gets you a discounted entrance fee, a vast majority offer complimentary access for visitors.

There are a few rules that go along with them.  Most of the reciprocal organizations don't offer access if your home museum is within a 15-20 mile radius of the museum you're visiting, so please check the websites below for their restrictions.  Also, please don't bring guests with you and expect them to get in as well.  We have always been able to get in together on one family membership, and I would believe that families with children will get in as well, but I would not think they would let other adults who are not in your family into the museum on one family membership.

Here is a list of some of the reciprocal membership organizations out there.  By far, the largest is the North American Reciprocal Museum Association, with well over a thousand members.  They're all wonderful groups though, and you should check out their membership lists.  In 2019, we took a two week trip to Boston, Newport, New York City, and Philadelphia, and only paid to get into one museum the entire time.  We also used the access in Toronto and Montreal, which both have several museums in these programs.

AHS - American Horticultural Society

AMRN - Art Museum Reciprocal Network

CUAM - College & University Arts Museum Reciprocal Program
MARP - Museum Alliance Reciprocal Membership
NARM - North American Reciprocal Museum Association
ROAM - Reciprocal Organization of Associated Museums

SERM - Southeastern Reciprocal Membership

I hope this helps those of you looking for something interesting to do on your next vacation, and gives you an added incentive to become a member at your local museum.

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