Why the ASTC Passport Program is Your Ticket to a Cheap Family Vacation Getaway
The ASTC Passport Program literally lets you pay once, then get in hundreds of science centers or museums for free.
Sound too good to be true? It's legit--really. We love this program so much we've been taking advantage of it for the last 8 years.
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There's always something fun to do at the Science Museum of Virginia.
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Here's how it works: buy a membership at a science center, preferably one near your home so you can visit it several times throughout the year. This gives you free admission for one year, not only to that museum, but also to 250 science centers and museums around the world.
For example, I buy a family membership at the Science Museum of Virginia which is located in Richmond. Cost: $76 (I got a teacher's discount) which includes several free IMAX tickets and guest tickets (worth well over $100). We visit the museum at no charge several times a year.
PLUS, we use our membership to visit seven other science museums (here or in other states...California, Florida, New York, you name it) this year for free.
Over the course of a year, we could easily save over $200 by taking advantage of the passport program. The more museums you visit, and the more times you go, the more you save.
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Touching horseshoe crabs at the Virginia Living Museum. |
Here are the ASTC Passport Program Museums in Virginia:
Virginia Air & Space Museum - Hampton
Virginia Living Museum - Newport News
Science Museum of Virginia - Richmond
Virginia Aviation Museum - Richmond
Virginia Discovery Museum - Charlottesville
Danville Science Center - Danville
Virginia Museum of Natural History - Martinsville
Science Museum of Western Virginia - Roanoke
Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum - Winchester
To find a participating museum near you, click here.
TIP! To get the best bang for your buck, make sure you buy your membership at a participating museum near where you live. If there are several such museums within a reasonable drive, choose the one with the lowest membership fee.
For example, when we lived in Michigan, we really loved the fantastic science museum in Toledo, whereas the science museum in Detroit was only so-so. But the Toledo museum had a higher membership fee, so we bought our membership at the Detroit museum instead.
Looking for more ways to save money on a Virginia vacation? Return from ASTC Passport Program to our Discount Travel Deals page.
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