We have memberships to many of our local museums and I think we’ve even been zoo members for nearly 10 years now. (Yes, we were members even BEFORE having kids. I absolutely love our Woodland Park Zoo!) Seattle memberships are one of the ways we get to do so many things with our family in the city.
We love how having a membership at a place we love supports and keeps it thriving. Is is also very convenient to have a membership because it allows us to visit our favorite museums for a short period of time without having to worry about the cost. Memberships make spontaneous adventures for our family; instead of just going out for dinner, we drop into the zoo for a half an hour visit and then grab Paseo on the way home or head to the Tutta Bella on Stoneway. Or if we need to shop downtown, we stop at the Children’s Museum or Science Center beforehand (or after if we need a little incentive) and take the monorail into the city. Some memberships even offer early member times so that you can enjoy a place you love without the crowds. (We’ve loved this benefit from the Seattle Aquarium. They are really good about making early member mornings on Sundays and we always have a great time.)
But maybe you didn’t know that having Seattle memberships usually have perks when you travel to other places.
For example, on our recent trip to Oahu, I went through my membership affiliations while I planned our trip to see if there were any reciprocal benefits in Oahu.
I found that with the Kidsquest Family Fun Membership or any Pacific Science Center Membership Level, you could visit the Bishop Museum in Hawaii for free!
With Patron Level Membership at the Seattle Art Museum you could visit the Honolulu Academy of Arts. (We didn’t get to visit this one this time, but we’ve used the reciprocal benefit at the Denver Art Museum and absolutely LOVED it!)
Our Family Plus Mohai Membership has reciprocal benefit at the Hawaiian Mission Houses on Honolulu too.
And these are only a handful of Seattle memberships and their reciprocal benefits in Hawaii. These Seattle memberships also have hundreds of benefits ALL OVER North America and maybe even the world. And even though we only went to the Bishop Museum on our trip, I don’t think we would have gone at all had I not looked it up before our trip and we would have totally missed out on an amazing place. So, yes, it might sound weird to look into a membership in your hometown when you’re heading out on holiday, but if you look into it before you go, it might save you a lot and give you a fun place to visit when you get back (which might actually end up being the best souvenir of all….)
(PS. Vancouver friends, your Science World Membership has similar reciprocal benefits to the Pacific Science Center membership too!!)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
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