Program Offers Free Museum Visits

By Terri Moon Cronk

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2011 – Service members and their families can visit a wide array of museums free of charge from Memorial Day through Labor Day, courtesy of the second-annual Blue Star Museums program.

Kathy Roth-Douquet, Blue Star Families chairman, and Rocco Landesman, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, announced this year’s program yesterday in San Diego.

“Blue Star Museums recognizes and thanks our military families for all they are doing for our country,” Landesman said, “and simultaneously begins young people on a path to become lifelong museum-goers.”

Roth-Douquet noted the program’s success in its first year.

“We are thrilled that 300,000 military family members visited our partner museums in the summer of 2010,” she said.” We hope to exceed that number this year as the military community takes advantage of the rich cultural heritage they defend and protect every day.

“We appreciate the NEA and the nation's museums who chose to partner with us,” she continued. “We also are grateful to our friends at the MetLife Foundation, the lead supporter of the Blue Star Museums outreach initiative, whose generous donation helps make our work possible."

This year, more than 1,300 museums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa, are taking part in the initiative.  This number includes more than 500 new museums, officials said, with the potential for others to join throughout the summer.

The Blue Star Museums program runs from May 30 through Sept. 5. The free admission program is available to active-duty military and their immediate family members -- military ID holders and up to five immediate family members. Active duty National Guard and Reserve members also are eligible.