Park City Museum will add a fifth membership level in 2027, giving its 600 members access to benefits at Smithsonian-affiliated museums across the country.

The new tier builds on a milestone the museum reached in February: becoming the first and only Smithsonian Affiliate in Utah. The Park City Historical Society, which oversees the museum at 528 Main St., completed a year-and-a-half application process to join the network, as KPCW reported at the time.

"We will introduce a fifth level of membership next year, and we will take part in the Smithsonian's reciprocal membership program," Alyssa Woodall, the museum's development director, told the Park Record. "So, if you are a member of the Park City Museum, you can visit another affiliate museum and enjoy some benefits at that museum."

More than 50 of the Smithsonian's roughly 216 affiliates nationwide participate in the reciprocal program, according to the Smithsonian's affiliate directory. Benefits at participating locations include free admission for two, discounts on concert and lecture tickets, and gift-store discounts.

The new level will sit alongside the museum's four existing tiers, which range from Individual at $55 a year to Charter Member at $2,000. Woodall said those tiers will not change.

Pricing and benefits for the fifth tier have not been set. Woodall said details are still being worked out with the Smithsonian Affiliations office.

The Smithsonian Affiliations program, established in 1996, spans more than 216 institutions across 46 states, Puerto Rico and Panama, according to the Smithsonian's fact sheet. As an affiliate, the Park City Museum can borrow Smithsonian artifacts and host traveling exhibitions.

The museum holds roughly 5,000 three-dimensional objects and more than 60,000 photographs, all specific to Park City, according to Executive Director Morgan Pierce. The Historical Society founded the museum in 1981. It closed in 2007 for a two-year, nearly $9 million renovation and expansion, reopening in the 12,000-square-foot space that spans three levels of the original city hall and library buildings.

Pierce described the affiliation as part of the museum's strategic plan since 2021. When the acceptance arrived in February, he compared it to "a college acceptance letter, except it came via email," as he told the Park Record at the time.

Memberships can be purchased online at parkcityhistory.org/membership or at the front desk at 528 Main St.