Museums open doors to military, dependents

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Birthplace of Country Music Museum

If you like music then you owe a debt of gratitude for events that occurred 90 years ago in Bristol, Tennessee.

Blue Star Museums will offer free admission to current U.S. military personnel and their immediate families, including the National Guard and Reserves, from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Blue Star Museums is a collaboration between the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and 2,000 other museums across America. The program provides families an opportunity to enjoy the nation's cultural heritage and learn more about their communities. 

Participating regional museums include: the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, Tennessee; the Asheville Art Museum; in Charlotte, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Charlotte Museum of History, the Levine Museum of the New South, the Mint Museum, and Wing Haven; the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga; the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville, Tennessee; in Knoxville, the Knoxville Museum of Art, the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture and the Museum of East Tennessee History; the Cades Cove Museum and the Blount County Historical Museum; the American Museum of Science and Energy at Oak Ridge and the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge; the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville and the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend; the East Tennessee Historical Society; and in Georgia, the High Museum of Art and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, both in Atlanta, and the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia in Sautee Nacoochee, to name a few.

Click here for a complete list of participating museums across the nation.

“Visiting a museum is a great way to get to know a community — whether it’s in your hometown or a stop on a road trip,” said National Endowment of the Arts Chairman Jane Chu. “We appreciate the enthusiasm of museums all across the country who open their doors for military and their families to spend time together and have new arts experiences.”

Free admission requires presentation of a valid military or dependent identification card.