Department of Defense

More Than 2,000 Museums Offer Military Families Free Access

More than 2,000 museums in all 50 states are again offering free admission to military personnel and their families this summer, beginning on Memorial Day.

This year's Blue Star Museums program will be announced Wednesday at D.C.'s Phillips Collection. This is the sixth year for the program created by the National Endowment for the Arts, the group Blue Star Families and the Department of Defense.

The free admission offer runs through Labor Day for military service members, members of the National Guard and Reserve, and their families. 

Participating museums include art galleries, science museums, history museums, nature centers and children's museums -- go here for a list.

While many of D.C.'s museums are already free for everyone, not all of them are. Those on the list for this program include the National Building Museum, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Phillips Collection.

The initiative began in 2010 with fewer than 1,000 museums and has more than doubled in size.

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