Central Mass is lucky to have several great museums for families. The costs of museum visits can add up quickly, but my husband and I recently discovered a way to save money that everyone should be aware of. It’s one of those things that almost seems too good to be true, but it’s real. I’m almost worried that sharing this best-kept secret to low-cost museum visits will lead to too many people taking advantage of it!
The “Secret” is the NARM Membership
The North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association is a group of hundreds of museums across the country (even in a few other countries), and once you’re a member of one museum, you get into all of them for FREE! Click here for a complete list. We discovered this museum hack when my in-laws bought us a membership to Old Sturbridge Village (a member of NARM). A family membership to Old Sturbridge Village is currently $120, and that gets us into all other NARM museums. Our favorite local NARM museums are the Discovery Museum in Acton ($181 for a family membership), the EcoTarium in Worcester ($175 for a family membership), and the American Heritage Museum in Hudson ($140 for a family membership). Separate family memberships to just these other three museums would total $496!
As long as the NARM museum’s membership costs $100 or above, you can get into all the NARM museums! When my in-laws first gifted us the membership to Old Sturbridge Village a few years ago, it cost them a little less than $100. We paid the difference, and Old Sturbridge Village sent us new membership cards with the NARM sticker on them. Make sure that whichever museum you join has the NARM sticker on its membership card.
Benefits Beyond Central Mass
Last summer, on a trip to the Cape, we discovered that the NARM membership got us into the Heritage Museums and Gardens and the Sandwich Glass Museum and Historical Society. The Heritage Museum and Gardens is mostly outdoors and includes a treehouse and natural play area for children and an indoor carousel. Try to make it to the Glass Museum when they have the glass blowing demonstration! These two locations in Sandwich are a very short drive from each other and are a perfect FREE (with NARM membership) excursion when it’s not a great beach day. The New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT, is another recent favorite of my two and five-year-old sons. That museum is like a mini Touch-A-Truck event but with a helicopter and planes—best day ever!
Other Ways to Save Money
When family or friends ask for gift ideas around the holidays or birthdays, or when you’re looking for an experience gift for your own family, a membership to a NARM museum is perfect. You can also check your library for museum passes or discounted tickets. Many museums offer reduced-price entry or other deals. For example, the Discovery Museum in Acton has “Free Friday Nights” from 4:30-8:30 pm on Friday nights over the summer and the first Friday night of each month during the school year. Some companies offer discounts to employees. Many museums have educator and military discounts, and being an AAA member often saves a few dollars.
There are many ways to save, but I have yet to find any deal as amazing as the NARM membership! You have to promise to only tell this “secret” to your closest friends so they don’t change it for those of us in the know, okay?
