Blue Star Museums

This summer the Museum is once again participating in Blue Star Museums, a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and more than 1,000 museums across America, to offer free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2011.  We are proud to offer this program to the men and women who serve our nation, along with their families who often have a loved one deployed overseas. The free admission program is available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention Common Access Card (CAC), A DD Form 1173 ID Card, or a DD Form 1173-1 ID Card, which includes active duty military and their immediate family members, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, and Reserves.    

"America's museums are proud to join the rest of the country in thanking our military personnel and their families for their service and sacrifice," said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman, who announced the program on May 23. "I cannot imagine a better way to do that than welcoming them in to explore and enjoy the extraordinary cultural heritage our museums present. The works of art on view this summer will certainly inspire and challenge viewers – and sometimes they will just be a great deal of fun."   

"There have always been wonderful examples of partnerships between museums and military installations, but the scale of this gift from the museum community to military families is thrilling," said Blue Star Families Chairman Kathy Roth-Douquet. "Military families work hard for this country, and it is gratifying for us to be recognized for that. We anticipate that thousands of military families will participate in the program and visit museums this summer – many of them for the first time. Blue Star Families will work hard to help our military families make the most of these opportunities."