NMHM joins "Blue Star Museums" program aimed at military families

By Paul Bello, National Museum of Health and Medicine

SILVER SPRING, Md. - Effective Memorial Day through Labor Day 2015, the National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM) will be participating in Blue Star Museums, a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense (DoD), and more than 2,000 museums across America, in offering free admission to active duty military personnel and their families.

The program is open to persons with a DoD Common Access Card or a dependent identification card. The program also extends to members of the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserve. (Some limitations apply; learn more at the Blue Star Museums link below.)

"Blue Star Museums has grown into a nationally recognized program that service members and their families look forward to each year," said Blue Star Families Chief Executive Officer Kathy Roth-Douquet. "It helps bring our local military and civilian communities together, and offers families fun and enriching activities in their home towns. We are thrilled with the continued growth of the program and the unparalleled opportunities it offers."

NMHM, which moved to Silver Spring, Md. in 2012, features an extensive collection of artifacts that focus on the advances in military medicine, the Civil War, the brain, anatomy and pathology and forensic education. This summer, NMHM will host an "Anatomy of Sports" program August 19, in addition to its monthly series of "Medical Museum Science Cafes." For more information, visit www.medicalmuseum.mil.

This year's Blue Star Museums program represents fine arts museums, as well as science museums, history museums, nature centers, and dozens of children's museums. Regional military museums are also participating, including the Fort George G. Meade Museum, National Cryptologic Museum, U.S. Army Transportation Museum, U.S. Army Women's Museum, Hampton Roads Naval Museum, and the National Museum of the United States Navy.

For a complete list of participating museums, visit arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.