By Kate Kocienski
Grand Rapids Public Museum
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 2021 program will begin on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 15, and end on Labor Day, Monday, September 6. 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 Kate Kocienski, VP of Marketing and PR at the GRPM. “The Museum experience is a great way for families of all ages to connect, while having fun and learning, and we hope that visitors will walk away with endless memories.”
“Like the resilience that military families demonstrate time and again, the Grand Rapids Public Museum is an example of resiliency in the arts sector over the past year,” said Ann Eilers, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “We are grateful to the GRPM for their leadership in strengthening the community through their participation in the Blue Star Museums program this summer.”
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.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the launch of the Blue Star Museums 2021 program! Thank you to the Grand Rapids Public Museum for participating in this impactful and highly anticipated program,” said Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO Blue Star Families. “Because of the GRPM and their counterparts in the cultural arts community, military families have the opportunity to create special memories and experience the arts again!”
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 as well as the special exhibit, Amazing Pollinators. Additional experiences, such as shows in the Chaffee Planetarium and the special exhibit POPnology, 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
