High Desert Museum Free for Military Families
High Desert Museum announced the launch of Blue Star Museums, a collaboration among the National Endowment of the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 1,500 museums across America to offer free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
The High Desert Museum?s daily summer schedule lets you meet live animals close up including raptors, a porcupine, badger, reptiles and wild mustangs. Do guided nature walks, tours and join pioneers portrayed live in the year 1904 at the re-created Homestead Ranch and tend to the chickens, garden, cross-cut sawing, frontier games and more!
And, the classic American icons Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl will be here live 10 a.m. to2 p.m. throughout the summer, in conjunction with the exhibit Smokey Bear & Woodsy Owl: Home Sweet Home, with hands-on activities and outdoor trail inspiring families to care for our natural resources.
?This summer, the Museum is offering even more enriching and educational programs for families,? said Museum President Janeanne A. Upp. ?Our continued partnership with Blue Star Museums allows us to connect with the nation?s military families, and express our appreciation for the sacrifices they make for the country.?
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman said: ?Through Blue Star Museums, the arts community is extending a special invitation to military families to enjoy over 1,500 museums this summer. This is both an opportunity to thank military families for their service and sacrifice, as well as a chance to create connections between museums and these families that will continue throughout the year. Especially for families with limited time together, those on a limited budget, and ones that have to relocate frequently, Blue Star Museums offers an opportunity to enjoy one another and become more fully integrated into a community.?
Blue Star Families CEO Kathy Roth-Douquet said: ?As we enter the third consecutive year of the Blue Star Museums program, we are happy provide an opportunity for our nation?s service members and their families to connect with our national treasures. Through this distinctive collaboration between Blue Star Families, the National Endowment for the Arts and more than 1,500 museums across the United States, military families have an unparalleled opportunity to visit some of the country?s finest museums for free.?
This year, more than 1,500 museums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa are taking part in the initiative, including more than 300 new museums this year. Museums are welcome to join Blue Star Museums throughout the summer. The effort to recruit museums has involved the partnership efforts of the American Association of Museums, the Association of Art Museum Directors, the Association of Children?s Museums, the American Association of State and Local History, and the Association of Science-Technology Centers.
This year?s Blue Star Museums represent not just fine arts museums, but also science museums, history museums, nature centers, and 70 children?s museums. Among this year?s new participants are the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar in Richmond, Virginia, the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo, NM, the Cleveland Botanical Garden in Cleveland, Ohio, the Children?s Creativity Museum in San Francisco, California, the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas, and the World Figure Skating Museum & Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Leadership support has been provided by MetLife Foundation through Blue Star Families. The complete list of participating museums is available at www.arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.
About Blue Star Museums Blue Star Museums is a collaboration among the National Endowment of the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 1,500 museums across America. The program runs from Memorial Day, May 28, 2012 through Labor Day, September 3, 2012. The free admission program is available to active-duty military and their family members (military ID holder and up to five family members). Active duty military include Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and active duty National Guard and active duty Reserve members. 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 the museum directly. To find out which museums are participating, visit www.arts.gov/bluestarmuseums. The site includes a list of participating museums and a map to help with visit planning.
About the High Desert Museum
The High Desert Museum is nationally acclaimed for inspiring stewardship of the natural and cultural resources of the High Desert. It offers close-up wildlife encounters, living history performances, Native American and Western art, nature trails, tours and special programs for all ages. An independent, nonprofit educational institution, it is on 135 forested acres, five minutes from Bend on South Highway 97. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily May 1 through Oct. 31. Adults, $15; seniors (65 plus), $12; ages 5-12, $9; ages 4 and younger and all members, free. Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily Nov. 1 through April 30. Adults, $10; seniors (65 plus), $9, ages 5-12, $6; ages 4 and younger and all members, free. Closed July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
