The official rosters put 119 North Carolina institutions on one program or another, clustered in Raleigh, Charlotte, Wilmington: 26 NARM, 19 ASTC Passport Program, 7 AZA Reciprocal Admissions Program, 16 AHS Garden Network, 11 ACM, 32 Museums for All, 8 Time Travelers. Enter your ZIP in the lookup to sort them by distance with each program's rules applied. Rosters pulled 2026-09-05.
| Program | North Carolina rows | Share | Biggest cluster |
|---|---|---|---|
| NARM | 26 | 22% | Raleigh (3) |
| ASTC Passport Program | 19 | 16% | Wilmington (2) |
| AZA Reciprocal Admissions Program | 7 | 6% | Carolina (2) |
| AHS Garden Network | 16 | 13% | Wilmington (2) |
| ACM | 11 | 9% | Graham (1) |
| Museums for All | 32 | 27% | Charlotte (4) |
| Time Travelers | 8 | 7% | Raleigh (2) |
North Carolina has 19 ASTC science centers on the map, forming 171 possible pairs — and 47 of those pairs sit inside 90 miles of each other, so members of one can't use the other. The closest pair: Marbles Kids Museum and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 0 miles apart. The farthest: Asheville Museum of Science and Port Discover at 355 miles, which does clear the rule. Both legs count: your home science center and your home address each have to be 90+ miles away. How the ASTC rule works.
13 institutions in North Carolina sit on multiple rosters, which makes them the safest bets for a reciprocal visit: Airlie Gardens (ASTC Passport Program + Museums for All + AHS Garden Network); Blowing Rock Art & History Museum (NARM + Museums for All); Cameron Art Museum (NARM + Museums for All); Cape Fear Botanical Garden (Museums for All + AHS Garden Network); Cape Fear Museum of History and Science (ASTC Passport Program + Museums for All); Iredell Museums (NARM + ACM); Kaleideum (ASTC Passport Program + ACM); Marbles Kids Museum (ASTC Passport Program + ACM); and 5 more.
| Institution | City |
|---|---|
| Joel Lane Museum House, Inc. | Raleigh |
| North Carolina Museum of Art | Raleigh |
| North Carolina Museum of History | Raleigh |
| Bechtler Museum of Modern Art | Charlotte |
| The Mint Museum | Charlotte |
| Cameron Art Museum | Wilmington |
| Cape Fear Museum | Wilmington |
| Ackland Art Museum | Chapel Hill |
| Lam Museum of Anthropology, Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem |
| Reynolda House Museum of American Art | Winston-Salem |
| Institution | City |
|---|---|
| Marbles Kids Museum | Raleigh |
| North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences | Raleigh |
| Discovery Place | Charlotte |
| Airlie Gardens | Wilmington |
| Cape Fear Museum of History and Science | Wilmington |
| Morehead Planetarium and Science Center | Chapel Hill |
| Kaleideum | Winston-Salem |
| Asheville Museum of Science | Asheville |
| iety ety Western North Carolina Nature Center | Asheville |
| Museum of Life and Science | Durham |
| Institution | City |
|---|---|
| Museum of Life and Science Greensboro Science Center | Greensboro |
| North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island | Carolina |
| Western North Carolina Nature | Carolina |
| North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher | Kure Beach |
| North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores | Pine Knoll Shores |
| North Carolina Zoo | Asheboro |
| Center |
| Institution | City |
|---|---|
| JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University | Raleigh |
| Juniper Level Botanic Garden | Raleigh |
| UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens | Charlotte |
| Wing Haven | Charlotte |
| Airlie Gardens | Wilmington |
| New Hanover County Arboretum | Wilmington |
| North Carolina Botanical Garden | Chapel Hill |
| The North Carolina Arboretum | Asheville |
| Arborcrest Gardens | Boone |
| Sarah P. Duke Gardens - Duke University | Durham |
| Institution | City |
|---|---|
| Marbles Kids Museum | Raleigh |
| The Children's Museum of Wilmington | Wilmington |
| The North Carolina Children's Museum | Chapel Hill |
| Miriam P. Brenner Children's Museum | Greensboro |
| The Children's Playhouse | Boone |
| COGNITION of Davie County, Inc. | Mocksville |
| Exploration Station, Hands-On Learning Center | Lumberton |
| Fascinate-U Children's Museum | Fayetteville |
| Iredell Museums | Statesville |
| Kaleideum | Winston Salem |
| Institution | City |
|---|---|
| City of Raleigh (COR) Museum | Raleigh |
| Joel Lane Museum House | Raleigh |
| Greensboro Historical Museum | Greensboro |
| Preservation Durham | Durham |
| High Point Museum & Historical Park | High Point |
| Museum of the Cherokee Indian | Cherokee |
| Gaston County Museum of Art & History | Dallas |
| Museum and Archives of Rockingham County | Reidsville |
For SNAP EBT cardholders, 32 North Carolina participants charge between nothing and $5 per person, up to four people, during normal hours: Charlotte Museum of History · Mint Museum Randolph · Mint Museum Uptown · Wing Haven · Cameron Art Museum · Morehead Planetarium & Science Center · North Carolina Botanical Garden · North Carolina Children's Museum - The Nest and 24 more. Program rules.
Beyond membership cards, 5 North Carolina institutions on this site have verified free-admission routes: Mint Museum, Bechtler, Levine Museum, Discovery Place Science, Charlotte Museum of History. City guides: Charlotte. Outdoors, check the North Carolina library state-park pass situation.
↥ Check another membership → Browse all reciprocity guides →
26 North Carolina institutions are on the current NARM roster, including Joel Lane Museum House, Inc., North Carolina Museum of Art, North Carolina Museum of History, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. It only works if your home membership is at the NARM tier; per-museum flags can exclude events or locals within 15 miles.
Yes — everywhere. North Carolina has 19 ASTC science centers on the map, forming 171 possible pairs — and 47 of those pairs sit inside 90 miles of each other, so members of one can't use the other. The closest pair: Marbles Kids Museum and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 0 miles apart. The farthest: Asheville Museum of Science and Port Discover at 355 miles, which does clear the rule.
Yes: 32 North Carolina institutions participate in Museums for All, where a SNAP EBT card plus photo ID admits up to four people for free to $5 — no membership needed.