WASHINGTON (May 27, 2015) -- Service members and their Families can visit more than 2,000 museums across 50 states, Puerto Rico and American Samoa, at no charge, from Memorial Day through Labor Day, as part of the Blue Star Museums program.
The program, in its sixth year, is the result of collaboration between the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families and the Department of Defense.
This year's Blue Star Museums program kicked off, May 20, at the "The Phillips Collection," a private museum in Washington, D.C. Ellyn Dunford, wife of Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford, said visiting museums can have long-range effects.
"Museums celebrate tolerance and freedom, teach respect for cultural differences, facilitate a sense of individual and collective identity and power through knowledge, and nurture an understanding of our connections to the world and each other," she said. "Military Families spread messages throughout the world as they change duty stations ... and they eventually leave the military and go back to our communities and bring with them that wealth of knowledge and experience."
In 2010, Dunford hosted the first Blue Star Museum event in San Diego.
SHARING A HOBBY
For 12-year-old Ava Smith, a painter, it was a special treat to attend the 2015 kick-off of the Blue Star Museums program in the nation's capital. Ava's mother is Army Lt. Col. Paula Smith, health director for the Army's Soldier for Life program.
During a tour of "The Phillips Collection" museum, Ava was asked by the museum's curator to dissect Vincent van Gogh's "The Road Menders" painting. She said her interaction with the museum staff gave her a different perspective of the painting. Paula said she was proud to hear Ava's interpretation of the artwork.
"This just shows me how grown up she's getting," she said, her face lighting up. "This is just the tip of the iceberg as far as enjoying museums together. With the military, we have to carve out that time with our Families, and I can't think of a better venue in which to spend time with my family. I'm so happy to be here with her."
Ava said that above all, the most important part of having participated in the museum event was that she was able to do it with her parents.
"It's an honor to be able to go to a museum and have the privilege to go," Ava said. "It's nice to be here with my mom and to share my painting with her and my dad. It's nice to spend time with my parents, especially in museums. I get a lot out of it, and I learn a lot."
Ava said that she and her Family had already visited a Blue Star Museum in Massachusetts, called the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
"We enjoyed it; it was fun," she said.
Paula said they are going to Boston in a few weeks, and they are already signed up to visit Blue Star Museums there.
"There are a lot of activities to do this summer and some of them, you don't get a chance to really connect with your kids," Paula said. "When we go to a museum, everybody is going there with the Family, looking at the paintings and talking about the different pieces and what it means. We're conversing; we're discussing; we're appreciating each other's views. It's a great way of introducing cultural diversity and understanding, things that the kids don't necessarily get in school or to the depth that they would in a museum."
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
Jane Chu, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, said Blue Star Museums has something for everyone.
"Parents of young children tell us that they go to museums to learn new things and have Family time together," she said. "Blue Star Museums helps them do both, by helping military Families learn about the cultural resources in their communities and offering a fun, high-quality experience that's budget friendly, as well as Family friendly. We're proud to help connect museums to military communities nationwide."
MILITARY FAMILIES
For Blue Star Families Chief Executive Officer Kathy Roth-Douquet, wife of retired Marine Col. Greg Douquet, the Blue Star Museums program holds a special place in her heart.
"In 2010, when this program began, we had gotten a one week's notice that my husband was going to go to Afghanistan for a year, so he packed his bag, shaved his head and went off," she said. "It was a tough year for all of us. Museum-going enhances resilience. It's a nice, free activity in a beautiful setting that uplifts you, and you're also being told you're important.
"When you go to into the museum, the folks behind the counter say, 'We're so glad you're here. Welcome, this is yours for the summer. It's free because we appreciate what you do.' I can't underscore how much I love this program and how much my Family has used it," she said. "That first year, my kids and I traveled around the country, visiting Family and everywhere we went, we stopped at Blue Star Museums. My kids remember it as a high point of that summer and every summer since. I know personally what a difference it makes to folks."
Douquet said she and her children, Sophie, 17, and Charley, 13, have been to 27 Blue Star Museums and plan to visit more with her husband.
RESILIENCY
For Patricia Ochan, taking a tour of The Phillips Collection is a welcome break from medical appointments. She is the wife of Marine Sgt. Jimmy Ochan, who is with the Chemical Biological Incident Response Force Unit out of Indian Head, Maryland.
"This program is a great way for Families to come out and spend time together," she said. "We spend a lot of time in the hospital for my husband's appointments, so for us to be able to come out here is a huge break. We get to spend more time with our son and show him things. When he grows up and looks back, he'll be happy and respect the fact his dad exposed him to these good things."
During his three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, her husband suffered post-traumatic stress and injuries from an improvised explosive device blast. Patricia said Blue Star Families has been helping them as they are transitioning out of the military.
"We don't have extended Family here, and we've always longed to have people who cared around, so for us, Blue Star Families is actually like extended family," she said. "They fill in the gap and make us feel like we're not alone. I know other Families would benefit as well instead of just staying at home and getting overwhelmed with daily life. It's a good way to come out and feel special and feel like you're loved. This is really awesome."
THE PROGRAM
The free admission program is available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention common access card, a DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card, which includes active-duty U.S. military, National Guard, Reserve, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and up to five Family members. Some special or limited-time museum exhibits may not be included in this free admission program. For questions on particular exhibits or museums, contact the museum directly.
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