ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. – Historic St. Mary’s City announced 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 2024 program will begin on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 18, 2024, and end on Labor Day, Monday, September 2, 2024. Learn more and find the list of participating museums at arts.gov/BlueStarMuseums.
Blue Star Museums is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, in collaboration with the Department of Defense and participating museums across America.
“We are grateful to Historic St. Mary’s City for participating in this summer’s Blue Star Museums program and we hope military families will take this opportunity to create meaningful, lifelong memories,” said Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. “Whether you are traveling this summer, getting to know a new duty location, or exploring what your community has to offer, Blue Star Museums is a wonderful opportunity to create connection and find inspiration.”
“Military families love Blue Star Museums, and we couldn’t run this program without the National Endowment for the Arts and the museums across the nation who show they care by participating,” said Blue Star Families CEO Kathy Roth-Douquet. “Access to museums enriches military families, creates wonderful family memories, and helps us feel connected to our communities so that we can thrive and do the hard job we have to do for the country. I am delighted for us to launch the 14th year of this very special program.”
In addition to Historic St. Mary’s City, the Blue Star Museums program includes children’s museums, art, science, and history museums, zoos, gardens, lighthouses, and more, and hail from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The current list of participating museums will continue to grow 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—Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, and Space Force, 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), DD Form 1173-1 ID card or the Next Generation Uniformed Services (Real) ID card for entrance into a participating Blue Star Museum.
Follow #bluestarmuseums on Twitter @NEAarts and @BlueStarFamily. Follow Historic St. Mary’s City on Instagram @HistoricStMarys or Facebook @HistoricStMarysCity.
About Historic St. Mary’s City
Historic St. Mary’s City (HSMC)is an outdoor museum of living history and archaeology, dedicated to studying and interpreting the lives of those who dwelled in the area currently known as St. Mary’s City. This includes the ancestors of contemporary Native American groups, including the Piscataway Indian Nation and Piscataway Conoy Tribe, who recognized the region’s unique environmental advantages and lived here for thousands of years. It includes the European colonists from all walks of life who decided to voyage to an unfamiliar land and make a home on the banks of what came to be called the St. Mary’s River. It also includes the people of African ancestry who were forced from their homes and transported across the Atlantic Ocean to labor in perpetual bondage. The interactions of these groups of people gave rise to the complex legacies of opportunity and oppression whose effects are still being felt today.
HSMC is responsible for the preservation of more than 800 acres of land and three miles of shoreline. The museum continues to make new archaeological discoveries and train future archaeologists with its annual Field School in Historical Archaeology, the longest-running historical archaeological field school in the country. HSMC continues to engage both students and the general public in educational programs in novel and exciting ways, encouraging people of all ages to connect the past with their contemporary lives.
For more information about HSMC, contact the Visitor Center at 301-994-4370, 800-SMC-1634, or hsmcc.info@maryland.gov.
About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives 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. To learn more, visit arts.gov or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Blue Star Families
Blue Star Families (BSF) is the nation’s largest Chapter-based military and Veteran family support organization. Its research-driven approach fosters strong communities with a focus on human-centered design and innovative solutions. Since its founding in 2009, BSF has delivered more than $200 million in benefits and impacts more than 1.5 million people each year. For more information, click here.