How the NARM Association got its start
The North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association® began in the 1980s in Florida when a small group of museums decided they would like to offer their members extra benefits. The NARM member list and guidelines were sent to each member organization by a volunteer coordinator who was typically the membership staff person of one of the member museums.
In 2006, the volunteer coordinator from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico retired and NARM changed hands again. NARM coordination moved to Greenville, South Carolina and numerous enhancements were undertaken; the official name of the NARM organization was established, NARM lists appeared online for the first time in 2007, and by 2010 an official NARM logo was created.
The NARM Association had grown to over 500 institutions at the start of 2012 and member organizations were requesting a more professional NARM presence. The organization, no longer manageable by a volunteer coordinator, was incorporated in 2013 and began designing a professional website, brochures, and decals.
Today, there are more than 1,400 member institutions in six different countries for people with NARM-level benefits to explore. The NARM Association boasts an array of top-notch institutional members from arts and history museums to botanical gardens, children’s museums, science centers, and more.
Bixby Historical Society Joins NARM
In 2023 the Historical Society joined the NARM association. Our goal was to provide extra benefits to our members. NARM reciprocal benefits include* free/members admission price, discounts in the shop, and discounts on ticketed events at all NARM member organizations! Please note that ‘Family’ benefits are specific to each institution (e.g. If you visit an institution that has ‘Family’ benefits defined as two adults and two children, then those are the ‘Family’ benefits you will receive when you visit with a ‘Family’ membership).
The Historical Society has created three levels of NARM membership. To receive NARM benefits as an individual, or as family, you need to join the Bixby Historical Society at one of these NARM levels.
Once you join at a NARM level, you will receive membership cards directly from the Historical Society validated with the NARM identification and you will be ready to explore the vast NARM network!
You can find a NARM institution on the NARM member map by searching for its name, city, state, or ZIP Code. You can enter a radius if you need to search a certain area or even search by category.
You can also view and print a list of NARM member organizations, but please note that this list is only updated every three months and so may not reflect the most recent changes. You can find this list in the “Quicklinks” section at the bottom of any page on the NARM website.
Bixby Historical Society NARM Membership Levels
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Adventurer: (includes 2 NARM Cards) $100
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Trailblazer: (includes 6 NARM Cards) $300
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Explorer: (includes 10 NARM Cards) $500