If you're a military family looking for family activity ideas this summer, you can visit more than 2,000 museums nationwide, including Gig Harbor & Mason County, for free starting May 20. Blue Star Museums is a collaborative effort that offers free admission to active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve, from Armed Forces Day (May 20) through Labor Day (September 4).
The local museums participating in 2023 can be found HERE plus others throughout Puget Sound and across the state. Typically, more than 2,000 museums across America participate in Blue Star Museums each summer. These include children's museums, art museums, history and science museums, zoos, and nature centers. Visit as many as you want, as often as you want!
The free admission program is available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), a DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card, which includes active-duty U.S. military - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserve, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps - and up to five family members. (A family member of active duty military may include a spouse or child, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.)
To find out which museums in Washington are participating, visit HERE. The Blue Star Museums' website includes a list of participating museums and a map to help with visit planning. Some special or limited-time museum exhibits may not be included in this free admission program. For questions on particular exhibits or museums, please contact each museum directly. For general Blue Star Museums FAQs, click here.
