The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural and Cultural History will offer free admission to all active duty military personnel throughout the summer as part of the fifth annual Blue Star Museums program.

The UO museums have been Blue Star participants since the program’s inception in 2010, offering free admission to active service members and their families each year from Memorial Day through Labor Day, which this year is May 26 to Sept. 1. The program has been adopted by more than 2,000 museums nationwide.

Blue Star Museums is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense and hundreds of museums across America.

“We are proud to help connect military families with the cultural resources in their communities,” NEA Chairman Joan Shigekawa said. “More museums than ever are part of this military appreciation program.”

Any bearer of the Geneva Convention common access card, a dependent ID card (DD Form 1173) or a Uniformed Services ID card (DD Form 1173-1) can receive free admission, along with up to five family members.

“It helps bring our local military and civilian communities together and offers families fun and enriching activities in their home towns,” Blue Star Families CEO Kathy Roth-Douquet said. “We are thrilled with the continued growth of the program and the unparalleled opportunities it offers.”

This year’s Blue Star Museums not only include fine arts museums but also science, history and nature museums, as well as dozens of children’s museums. Other participating museums in Lane County include the Lane County Historical Society and Museum, Science Factory and Shelton McMurphey Johnson House.

―By Chloe Huckins, UO Public Affairs Communications intern