California counts 504 institutions across the reciprocal and access programs we map, clustered in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego: 169 NARM, 29 ASTC Passport Program, 12 AZA Reciprocal Admissions Program, 40 AHS Garden Network, 23 ACM, 181 Museums for All, 50 Time Travelers. Use the lookup with your ZIP to rank them by distance — the exclusion rules are computed for you. Rosters pulled 2026-09-05.
| Program | California rows | Share | Biggest cluster |
|---|---|---|---|
| NARM | 169 | 34% | San Francisco (17) |
| ASTC Passport Program | 29 | 6% | Bakersfield (2) |
| AZA Reciprocal Admissions Program | 12 | 2% | Los Angeles (2) |
| AHS Garden Network | 40 | 8% | Long Beach (3) |
| ACM | 23 | 5% | Santa Monica (1) |
| Museums for All | 181 | 36% | Coronado (13) |
| Time Travelers | 50 | 10% | San Francisco (5) |
California's 29 ASTC science centers make 406 pairs, 101 of them under 90 miles apart — members of either can't use the other. Buena Vista Museum of Natural History and Science to Kern County Museum is the tightest span at 0 miles; Natural History Museum of Cal Poly Humboldt to San Diego Natural History Museum is the longest at 678, comfortably past 90. The rule measures from both your home science center and your home address, as the crow flies. How the ASTC rule works.
Some California institutions honor several programs at once (88 of them on our map): Chabot Space & Science Center (NARM + ASTC Passport Program + Museums for All + ACM); Kern County Museum (NARM + ASTC Passport Program + Time Travelers + ACM); California Botanic Garden (NARM + Museums for All + AHS Garden Network); Camron-Stanford House (NARM + Time Travelers + Museums for All); CuriOdyssey (ASTC Passport Program + AZA Reciprocal Admissions Program + Museums for All); Kidspace Children's Museum (ASTC Passport Program + Museums for All + ACM); Sacramento Children's Museum (ASTC Passport Program + Museums for All + ACM); San Diego History Center (NARM + Time Travelers + Museums for All); and 80 more.
| Institution | City |
|---|---|
| Oakland Museum of California | Oakland |
| Asian Art Museum | San Francisco |
| Fine Arts Museums - de Young Museum | San Francisco |
| California Academy-adjacent: California State Railroad Museum | Sacramento |
| USS Hornet Museum | Alameda |
| Bowers Museum | Santa Ana |
| Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco | San Francisco |
| Chinese Historical Society of America | San Francisco |
| Fine Arts Museum - de Young Museum | San Francisco |
| Fine Arts Museums - Legion of Honor (Lincoln Park) | San Francisco |
| Institution | City |
|---|---|
| California Science Center | Los Angeles |
| Chabot Space & Science Center | Oakland |
| Exploratorium | San Francisco |
| Fleet Science Center | San Diego |
| Discovery Cube Orange County | Santa Ana |
| MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation | Santa Barbara |
| Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County | Los Angeles |
| MOXI The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation | Santa Barbara |
| San Diego Natural History Museum | San Diego |
| Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History | Santa Barbara |
| Institution | City |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Zoo | Los Angeles |
| Oakland Zoo | Oakland |
| San Francisco Zoological Gardens | San Francisco |
| Sacramento Zoo | Sacramento |
| Fresno Chaffee Zoo | Fresno |
| Santa Barbara Zoo | Santa Barbara |
| Cabrillo Marine Aquarium | Los Angeles |
| Happy Hollow Zoo | San Jose |
| Santa Ana Zoo | Santa Ana |
| Sequoia Park Zoo | Eureka |
| Institution | City |
|---|---|
| Gardens of Golden Gate Park - Conservatory of Flowers | San Francisco |
| Gardens of Golden Gate Park - Japanese Tea Garden | San Francisco |
| Gardens of Golden Gate Park - San Francisco Botanical Garden | San Francisco |
| UCLA Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden | Los Angeles |
| Casa del Herrero | Santa Barbara |
| Japanese Friendship Garden | San Diego |
| Santa Barbara Botanic Garden | Santa Barbara |
| Regional Parks Botanic Garden | Berkeley |
| University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley | Berkeley |
| Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden | Long Beach |
| Institution | City |
|---|---|
| Children's Creativity Museum | San Francisco |
| Noah's Ark At the Skirball | Los Angeles |
| The New Children's Museum | San Diego |
| Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose | San Jose |
| The Lawrence Hall of Science | Berkeley |
| Chabot Space & Science Center | Oakland |
| Kidspace Children's Museum | Pasadena |
| Children's Museum of Sonoma County | Santa Rosa |
| Kern County Museum | Bakersfield |
| Lindsay Wildlife Museum | Walnut Creek |
| Institution | City |
|---|---|
| California Historical Society | San Francisco |
| Chinese Historical Society of America | San Francisco |
| Tenderloin Museum | San Francisco |
| The Haas-Lilienthal House | San Francisco |
| The Walt Disney Family Museum | San Francisco |
| Campo de Cahuenga Historic Site | Los Angeles |
| Heritage Square Museum | Los Angeles |
| Italian American Museum of Los Angeles | Los Angeles |
| The Hunger Museum | Los Angeles |
| El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park | Santa Barbara |
The EBT route needs no membership at all — 181 California institutions take a SNAP EBT card plus photo ID for up to four people at free-to-$5: Casa de la Guerra · El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park · Legacy Center · Marston House Museum & Gardens · MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation · Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara Historical Museum · Santa Barbara Maritime Museum and 173 more. Program rules.
Reciprocity isn't the only way in. We track 25 California institutions with verified free days or free admission: California Science Center, Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM), The Broad and 19 more. City guides: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento. Library cardholders can also reserve museum passes: Discover & Go. The same library card may also lend a California state park pass.
↥ Check another membership → Browse all reciprocity guides →
169 California institutions are on the current NARM roster, including Oakland Museum of California, Asian Art Museum, Fine Arts Museums - de Young Museum, California Academy-adjacent: California State Railroad Museum. Your home membership has to be at a NARM-qualifying level, and roster flags (events excluded, 15-mile local exclusion) apply per museum.
Yes — everywhere. California's 29 ASTC science centers make 406 pairs, 101 of them under 90 miles apart — members of either can't use the other. Buena Vista Museum of Natural History and Science to Kern County Museum is the tightest span at 0 miles; Natural History Museum of Cal Poly Humboldt to San Diego Natural History Museum is the longest at 678, comfortably past 90.
Yes. Museums for All covers 181 California institutions — a SNAP EBT card admits up to four for between nothing and $5.