I'm a big fan of the Lawrence Hall of Science, and science museums in general, but is the price of membership really worth it? I wanted to evaluate what's included and excluded in the membership dues and compare it to how many times my family would need to attend to break even.
Regular admission prices to Lawrence Hall of Science:
$16 Adults; $12 Children 3–17; Seniors 65+
FREE for children age 2 and under, UC Berkeley students and staff.
Currently offering FREE admission to anyone displaced by California Fires.
Tickets for shows are $5 per person.
Museums for All: Free to EBT card holders with valid ID.
Perks of family membership to Lawrence Hall of Science:
- $115 covers two adults residing in the same household and their children or grandchildren under 18.
- Unlimited general admission to the Hall for 1 year from purchase*
- Two personalized adult Member cards
- One free guest with each visit
- Two single-use guest passes
- Two single-use Digital Theater passes
- 10% discount at the Discovery Corner Toy & Book Store
- Discounts on camps, classes, and birthday parties
- Priority registration on Summer Camps and select programs
- Invitations to Members-only events and exhibition openings
- Free or reduced admission to more than 350 ASTC science centers and museums worldwide
We kicked in for the “family premium” membership to bring along visiting grandparents, so our membership includes a few more goodies:
- $165 Two adults residing in the same household and their children or grandchildren under 18, plus two additional adult family members or caregivers.
- Four personalized adult Member cards — 2 household adults plus 2 additional adult family members or caregivers
- Two free guests with each visit
- One single-use Family Pass for up to 6 people
- Four single-use Digital Theater passes
- Discounts on camps, classes, and birthday parties
- Priority registration on Summer Camps and select programs
- 50% off Digital Theater admission anytime for you and your guests
- 50% admission at over 200 children’s museums through the Association of Children’s Museums Reciprocal Network
What membership doesn't get you:
- Free classes, camps, parties, workshops
- Free parking all the time (parking is $1/hour)
The break-even point, doing the math on my family:
The Family Plus membership costs $165. Gulp. With two adults and three kids under age 18, a single visit would run us $68 plus parking so we would need to visit the museum somewhere between 2 and 3 times in a year to get our value out of it, even sooner if we bring visiting grandparents!
When it's not worth it to become members:
Sponsor
Membership might not be a great idea if you have a best friend with fancy membership since they can invite guests for free. Other times when you might want to skip it: you have a young toddler (who's already FREE), you work for Cal, you have a membership to another reciprocal museum, or you're just not that into awesome science.
Open on the following Holidays:
- Labor Day
- Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Columbus Day)
- Veterans Day (Observed)
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Presidents Day
- Easter
- Memorial Day
Open daily during these weeks:
- Thanksgiving Week (November 23, 2019–December 1, 2019)*
- Winter Weeks (December 21, 2019–January 5, 2020)
- Spring Science Days (March 28, 2020–April 12, 2020)
Closed:
- July 4th, *Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day
[Photos by me; rate information updated 12/3/19]
Anonymous says
We got my five year old an individual membership for $50 (since my toddler doesn’t pay admission and my husband gets in free with UC Berkeley ID). My son can take one guest free each visit (ie me). And he got a discount ($20 off, I think) on LHOS summer camp. AND with reciprocal museum admission, four of us got free admission to the amazing Boston Science Museum this summer, which is usually $20 a head. So our $50 investment in LHOS has already paid us back generously.
heather says
That is definitely worth it! Nice one.
Rebecca Matthews says
No. Discover and Go both through Berkeley and Alameda County Libraries.
Lisa Tsering says
Rebecca is right. The Discover & Go passes are AMAZING and FREE. Contra Costa Public Library has them too.
Anonymous says
If you can afford it, please sign up for a full family membership! My understanding is that the museum is in dire financial straits because of budget cuts and that one of the few things people can do to save this terrific local institution from possible closure is to sign up for memberships, pay admission, have parties there, buy items at their gift shop etc. We only discovered the museum last summer but have already been there close to 10 times, and have already seen several sets of exhibits cycle through, plus own a couple books they helped develop. We’d be so sad to see it go!
Heather Flett says
That’s a really funny comment Anonymous. So, one of the few things we can do to support our local science museum is to throw money at it? Roger that.
I laugh but I did buy a membership for our beloved events editor within the last two weeks. I have personally found that the Lawrence Hall of Science is fantastic for local families with little kids. And I’ve loved the classes and birthday parties, too.