Reciprocal:corresponding; matching; complementary; equivalent: (reciprocal privileges)
Don’t you love dictionary.com‘s definition?  I love even more how the meaning can play out.  Buy one, get one free always seems like a great deal.  And when you are a mom (or dad) who wants to do fun activities with your children, finding bargains can help create more possibilities!
There are several places across Nebraska where you belong to one place, you can get in free or at a discount to another place.  I am mentioning the ones that I know about.  If I am missing any reciprocal places, please comment below OR e-mail me at odysseythroughnebraska@gmail.com.
Zoos:
Most zoos have a policy with other zoos where you can get in free or at a discount to other zoos.  The Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha used to be free with any Nebraska zoo membership.  But rumor has it that too many people were getting “Royal Zoo” memberships for a fraction of cost than using them to get into Omaha.  So, now you only get in at half price with other zoo memberships into Nebraska’s largest zoo.  Who really can blame them?  Funding the care of all of those animals is expensive, so they need people in the area to buy memberships from them.  Here are the zoo animal/options in Nebraska with reciprocal options.
Omaha Zoo 2010
Enjoying the Omaha Zoo several years ago … 🙂
(Located between Lincoln & Omaha – only open during warm seasons!)
Nebraska State Historical Memberships
Kids actually get in free to all locations, so I bought an individual membership since I knew that I would be the main one going to visit historic locations.  This also helped me to get their historical publications.  And “free” admission to the following places:
Chimney Rock Museum
While you can see Chimney Rock for free from the parking lot, the museum is worth the price of admission.  My children loved trying to see if they could have handled being pioneers.  I loved seeing all of the artifacts and reading the historical accounts!
*All of these places have seasonal and sometimes limited hours!
Association of Science and Technology Centers: This is my favorite way to have a reciprocal membership.  Not only can you get into several great places across the state once you have a ASTC membership, but you can also go to many places for free across the United States!
Here are the participating places across Nebraska:
Morrill Hall Explore
We have enjoyed using our Morrill Hall membership to explore there (so much more than dinosaurs!)  Plus we have been to the Omaha Children’s Museum AND to Edgerton with the reciprocal part for free!  The membership has definitely been worth it!
Strategic Air & Space Museum is on the list but does not offer reciprocal free admission.

And last but not least, this is another group ….

North American Reciprocal Museums in Nebraska

Note: Some of these places already have “free” admission.  This membership may be worth it if you travel across the United States to enjoy various museums!

David City Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art 402-367-4488
Kearney Museum of Nebraska Art 308-865-8559
Lincoln International Quilt Study Center & Museum 402-472-6549
Lincoln Sheldon Museum of Art 402-472-2461
Norfolk Norfolk Arts Center 402-371-7199
Omaha Joslyn Art Museum 402-342-3300

Author: neodyssey