BRISTOL, Va./Tenn. - The Birthplace of Country Music Museum announced the launch of Blue Star Museums, a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to the nation's active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The program provides families an opportunity to enjoy the nation's cultural heritage and learn more about their community, especially after a miliary move. This is the second year the museum has participated in the program.
"We are proud to participate as a Blue Star Museum to recognize and honor our active duty military personnel," said Dr. Jessica Turner, director of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. "We invite them to bring their families to the museum this summer and enjoy history and the arts in the communities they work so hard to protect."
"The Blue Star Museums program is a great opportunity for the NEA to team up with local museums in every state in the nation to support our service members and their families," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "It means a lot to offer these families access to high-quality, budget-friendly opportunities to spend time together."
This year's Blue Star Museums represent not just fine arts museums, but also science museums, history museums, nature centers, and dozens of children's museums, including newly participating museums: the Edgar Allen Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia; The Blues Foundation's Blues Hall of Fame Museum in Memphis, Tennessee; the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument in Hagerman, Idaho; and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. Museums are welcome to join Blue Star Museums throughout the summer.
"Whether they want to blast off at the science museum, take a walk though nature, or encounter animals at the aquarium, Blue Star Museums will help service members and their families create memories this summer," said Blue Star Families Chief Executive Officer Kathy Roth-Douquet. "This fantastic collaboration with the NEA brings our local military and civilian communities together, and offers families fun and enriching activities in their home towns. We are thrilled with the continued growth of the program and the unparalleled opportunities if offers."
A list of participating museums is available at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.
