By Bridget Patrick
Acting Director, Morale, Welfare and Recreation, Office of the Secretary of Defense (Military Community and Family Policy)
Whether your family is interested in space, natural history, science, art, or something else, you are in luck! Blue Star Museums is providing military families with fun, family-oriented opportunities all summer long!
Blue Star Museums is offering free admission to museums nationwide for military members and their families. There are museum options to match any family’s interests. More than 1,600 museums have agreed to participate including children’s museums, fine art museums, history and science museums, and nature centers.
With such a great selection, you can plan an afternoon of outdoor fun at a nature center or take your children to a hands-on children’s museum for a day’s worth of learning and exploring!
Many of us can recount a special museum experience from our childhood. Whether it was to see a dinosaur exhibit, an old airplane, or an interactive science exhibit, museums have the power to enhance our learning and engage our imaginations. I still love to visit the museums in and around Washington, D.C.; there is so much to learn and see.
I hope that many of you will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity and let Blue Star Museums say thank you for the contributions and sacrifices you make for our country.
To learn about the opportunities in your area, please check out the Blue Star Museums website. You can click on your state to find out which local museums are participating. Think ahead to your travel plans this summer too. You can always incorporate a free museum visit (or two or three) on your trip. It’s a great way to add a special experience to your vacation and save money at the same time! Admission prices at museums can add up and this is a wonderful opportunity to reduce the cost of family adventures this summer.
Even if your spouse is deployed, you can still take advantage of the free museum admission with your extended family members. It might be just what your family needs after a challenging school year or a long deployment. To make sure you and your family are eligible or to get answers to any other questions, please visit Blue Star Museum’s FAQ page.
If you have visited a Blue Star Museum in the past or are heading to one this summer, be sure to share your experience with us. Join our discussion please! We’d love to hear from you.
This is a great chance for families to spend time together when time and resources may be limited. I know that my summer plans will include visits to some of my favorite museums in DC. What about you? Where will your summer take you?
