For those of you that are about as excited as I am about
more “stuff” cluttering up the house and toy closet after this season, here are
some ideas for local museum memberships.
The great benefit of giving an experience, like a museum membership,
allows the gift to be used multiple times in the year and allows the giver to
build memories with the recipient. Plus,
it does not take up any space. Many of
these museums also offer reciprocal benefits for other children’s museums, so
you can get discounts when you are traveling as well (see links below).
Here are some of my favorites in the East Bay. Some of them have discounts for Cyber Monday,
so check it out today.
Oakland Zoo (AZA),
http://www.oaklandzoo.org/
Address: 9777 Golf Links Rd, Oakland, CA 94605
Family
membership (2 adults, up to 4 children) $159
Benefits: Free admission, free parking, summer early
entry
Discounts: 10% at gift shop, birthday parties, ZooCamp,
Special Events (like ZooLights)
Reciprocal
Benefits: Association of Zoos and
Aquariums (AZA)
Children’s Fairyland,
http://fairyland.org/
Address: 699 Bellevue Ave, Oakland, CA 94610
Family
membership (2 adults and 3 children) $107
-
1 adult and 3 children $91
-
3 adults and 3 children $123
Benefits: Free admission, guest pass, special edition
Fairyland key
Discounts: Special events (Jack O’Lantern Jamboree,
Fairy Winterland), Café and gift shop, park rental, birthday party, summer camp
Oakland Museum of
California, http://museumca.org/
Address: 1000 Oak St, Oakland, CA 94607
Family membership (4 adults and all
children) $95
Benefits:
Free admission, 2 guest passes
Discounts:
eNews, Invitations to special events, OMCA store, Bay Area businesses
(OMCA Perks)
Reciprocal Benefits: If Supporter membership ($175), North America
Reciprocal Museums (NARM)
Chabot Space &
Science Center (ASTC, ACM), http://www.chabotspace.org/index.htm
Address: 10000 Skyline Blvd, Oakland, CA 94619
Earth Family
membership (2 adults and up to 4 children)
$99
Earth Orbiter
includes Family + guest and ACM reciprocity
$150
Benefits: Free admission, free Planetarium shows,
e-newsletter
Discounts: gift shop and café, summer camp, events and
classes
Reciprocal
Benefits: Science centers and museums
(ASTC), ACM with Earth Orbiter membership
Lindsay Wildlife
Experience (ASTC, ACM), https://lindsaywildlife.org/
Address: 1931 1st Ave, Walnut Creek, CA 94597
Family
membership (2 adults and all children and/or grandparents at same address) $80
Benefits: Free admission, use of “members only”
library, Lindsay’s newsletter, 2 guest passes
Discounts: 10% at Lindsay store, educational programs, birthday parties and classes
Discounts: 10% at Lindsay store, educational programs, birthday parties and classes
Reciprocal
Benefits: Association of
Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), Association of Children’s Museums (ACM),
science and nature centers across California
Lawrence Hall of
Science, Berkeley (ASTC, ACM); www.lawrencehallofscience.org
Address: 1 Centennial Dr, Berkeley, CA 94720
Family Membership (2 adults and all children in
household plus guest) $95
-
Family
Premium (4 adults plus 2 guests and ACM Reciprocity) $135
Benefits:
Free admission, 2 guest passes, 2 Digital Theater passes
Discounts:
camps, classes and birthday parties
Reciprocal
Benefits: Science centers and museums
(ASTC), ACM with Family Premium membership
Habitot Children’s
Museum (ACM), http://www.habitot.org/
Address: 2065 Kittredge St, Berkeley, CA 94704
Family
membership (up to 4 household family members), $22/month, minimum 4 months
-
Premium membership (up to 6 household family
members and ACM reciprocity), $34/month,
min 4 months
-
10 visit (Individual) pass, $89
Benefits: Free admission, e-newsletter
Discounts: $9 guests, store purchases
Reciprocal
Benefits: ACM with Premium Membership
Museum of Children’s
Art (MOCHA), http://mocha.org/
Address: 1625 Clay St #100, Oakland, CA 94612
Family
membership
·
Novice (2 people) $100
·
Apprentice (4 people) $150
·
Master (6 people) $200
Benefits: Free admission
Discounts: art parties, camps and field trips
Reciprocal
benefits: Add $25 for Association of Children’s Museums (ACM)
East Bay Regional
Parks, http://www.regionalparksfoundation.org/join/benefits
Family
membership (2 individuals and children in household) $105
Benefits: Day use parking, annual dog pass, horse/boat
trailer permit, free swimming, admission to Ardenwood Historic Farm, Black
Diamond Mines Underground tour (must be at least 7)
Discounts: camping, group facility rental at The Ranch
at Little Hills, tram tours at Angel Island State Park
Six Flags Discovery
Kingdom, https://www.sixflags.com/discoverykingdom/store/season-passes
Gold Level Season Pass (Individual), $225; $64.99 Cyber Monday
Benefits: Free
parking, free admission (rest of 2017 & all 2018) to all Six Flags theme
parks and Waterworld Concord, includes Holiday in the Park and FrightFest.
Discounts: Friend
ticket discounts, limited offers during the year
Dining Passes can be purchased for Lunch and Snack at each
visit (starting at $48)
Quick Links to find participating museums across the
country:
Association of
Children’s Museums (ACM), https://findachildrensmuseum.org/
Association of
Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), http://www.astc.org/about-astc/about-science-centers/find-a-science-center/
Association of Zoos
and Aquariums (AZA), https://www.aza.org/find-a-zoo-or-aquarium
North America Reciprocal Museums (NARM), https://narmassociation.org/
Other Bay Area
museums/parks:
Bay Area Discovery Museum, Sausalito (ASTC, ACM); www.BayAreaDiscoveryMuseum.org
Children’s Creativity Museum, SF (ASTC); www.creativity.org
Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, SJ (ACM); www.cdm.org
CuriOdyssey, San Mateo (ASTC); www.curiodyssey.org
Exploratorium, SF; www.exploratorium.edu
The Tech Museum of Innovation, SF (ASTC); www.thetech.org
USS Hornet Museum, Alameda;
www.uss-hornet.org
Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, SJ; http://www.hhpz.org/
Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park, Gilroy; https://www.gilroygardens.org
California’s Great America, Santa Clara; https://www.cagreatamerica.com/
