Free Admission to Military Personnel and Their Families this Summer
Grand Rapids, MI – The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) announced today it will join museums nationwide in the Blue Star Museums initiative, a program that provides free admission to currently serving U.S. military personnel and their families this summer.
The 2023 program will begin on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 2023, and end on Labor Day, Monday, September 4, 2023. Find the list of participating museums at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.
Blue Star Museums is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in collaboration with Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and participating museums nationwide.
“The Museum is pleased to offer this opportunity for active duty military personnel and their families; this collaboration serves as a token of appreciation for their service, ” said Dale Robertson, President and CEO of the GRPM. “The museum experience is a great way for families of all ages to connect, have fun, and learn.”
Blue Star Museums include children’s museums, art, science, and history museums, zoos, gardens, lighthouses, and more, and hail from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The current list of participating museums will continue to develop over the summer as organizations are welcome to register to be a Blue Star Museum throughout the summer.
The free admission program is available for those currently serving in the United States Military – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard as well as members of the Reserves, National Guard, U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps and up to five family members. Qualified members must show a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card for entrance into a participating Blue Star Museum.
Free general admission to the GRPM through the Blue Star Museum initiative includes three floors of core exhibits, including two new traveling exhibits that will be opening at the GRPM on May 20: Ice Age: Michigan’s Frozen Secrets and Snow: Tiny Crystals, Global Impact. Additional experiences, such as shows in the Chaffee Planetarium, can be added on with an additional ticket. Visitors must present a valid ID upon arrival to the Museum to redeem tickets, tickets cannot be redeemed online.
Follow Blue Star Museums on Twitter @NEAarts and @BlueStarFamily, #bluestarmuseums
About the National Endowment for the ArtsEstablished by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support give Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.
About Blue Star FamiliesBlue Star Families is the nation’s largest grass-roots military family support organization, with a mission to support military families to improve military readiness. Its distinctive approach builds stronger communities around military families through knowledge and programs that address the unique needs of those who serve. Blue Star Families’ nationally recognized surveys and analysis give military families an important voice that informs policymakers and its military family programs. It uses the power of its collective resources and cross-sector collaborations to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of members of military families to strengthen the troops, their families, and our nation as a whole. For more information, visit bluestarfam.org.
Grand Rapids Public MuseumThe Grand Rapids Public Museum is an invaluable, publicly-owned institution that is home to more than 250,000 unique artifacts that tell the history of Kent County and beyond, houses the only planetarium in the region, and is responsible for protecting The Mounds, a national historic landmark. The Grand Rapids Public Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, with its main location in downtown Grand Rapids, MI at 272 Pearl Street, NW. For additional information including hours of operation, admission fees, and exhibit/event listings, please visit [www.grpm.org]www.grpm.org.
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