Reciprocal Agreements
If you’re anything like I used to be, the idea of pulling your credit card out at a museum admissions counter fills you with dread. For us, with six family members, the cost really adds up. I’m sure many of you are in the same boat. With a large (or even moderately sized) family on a fixed income, a trip to a museum has to be well thought out and carefully budgeted for.
But, what if I told you that, for the price of not much more than a single museum admission, you could be getting into hundreds of museums all year for FREE. Yes, you read that right. We go to museums almost weekly for free that would cost our family $100 or more if we had to pay out of pocket.
So, what’s the big secret? It’s really nothing tricky or complicated; it’s the beauty of the reciprocal agreement!
For those of you who haven’t heard of reciprocal agreements, museums LOVE to work together! Within specific cohorts of museums, you can buy one membership and have access to dozens (or in some cases even hundreds) of other museums!
Our first exposure to reciprocal agreements was the Canada Science and Technology Museum. With the cost of one membership, which included three museums within our city, we suddenly had access to literally HUNDREDS of other museums. Suddenly, we could visit a museum in virtually any other city we traveled to for free.
This got us thinking, and we figured out that there are many of these agreements out there, you just have to look! After scouring the web, we found that even many states and provinces, or even some cities, have their passes that act as mini-reciprocal agreements between local museums. One thing is for sure – if you are visiting a museum, definitely look into which reciprocal programs they belong to before opening your wallet!
Here are some of our favorite finds:
Association of Science and Technology Centers
http://www.astc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/FINAL_ASTCTravelPassport_6pt_May-Oct2018.pdf
In our experience, the science center reciprocal agreements have been the best bang for our buck (though we are a science-loving family)! We have used this particular reciprocal agreement all over Canada and the USA and LOVE it! Although it doesn’t get you into special exhibits outside of your home museum, you can still save hundreds of dollars a year on general admission.
Roam – Reciprocal Organization of Associated Museums
https://sites.google.com/site/roammuseums/home/list-of-roam-museums
Roam is a tad tricky, as it seems to be available largely to higher contributing members. However, the list of museums is so large that it is definitely worth exploring what that threshold is for the museums in your area to see if it is worth the cost for your family.
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
https://www.speakcdn.com/assets/2332/reciprocitychart2018.pdf
Although some of the participating Zoos and Aquariums don’t have a 100% reciprocal agreement, and the rules are a tad tricky, depending on your home Zoo or Aquarium, you can expect to get at least a 50% discount almost everywhere on their list.
Alliance of Natural History Museums Canada
Although this only applies to Canadian Museums, if you happen to be doing a tour of Canada or happen to travel a lot, this is a stellar deal and covers admission to a major Natural History Museum in almost every province or territory.
BONUS TIP: Don’t limit yourself to your “home museum” being the one located in your geographic area! Some museums actually have a cheaper membership rate for those who live out of town, so you may end up getting a better deal if you shop outside of your local area!