By KRWG News
Las Cruces – As part of the Blue Star Museums program, New Mexico's 14 state-run museums and historic monuments will offer free admission to active duty military personnel and their families all summer long.
"New Mexico is honored to join museums across the country to pay tribute to the men and women who serve in the military, and their families, by offering free admission at our museums and monuments this summer," said Governor Bill Richardson. "The Blue Star Museums program is an excellent way to give back to our military members and their families. I urge you to visit some of New Mexico's finest cultural treasures this summer."
The National Endowment for the Arts created the Blue Star Museums program to honor our active duty military members and their families. Museums across the country have signed on to the program and will be offering free admission from Memorial Day, May 31st through Labor Day, September 6th.
"Most of our state museums and monuments currently offer special free admission days for veterans," said Cultural Affairs Secretary Stuart Ashman. "We see this additional benefit for active military and their families as another step toward promoting the educational value of our museums to our citizens while honoring those who serve our country."
The National Endowment for the Arts plans to announce all participating museums on or before Memorial Day as the Blue Star Museums Honor Roll. Other museums that have already announced their involvement include the Art Institute of Chicago, Dallas Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Blue Star Families is a non-profit organization that works to support America's military families from all branches of service.
"New Mexico is such an important state for arts and culture," said Jill Cooper Udall, who is a member of the President's Committee for the Arts and the Humanities and alerted state museum officials about this opportunity. "By participating in the Blue Star program our museums will be opening up their doors and the world of arts and humanities for the deserving members of our military and their families to explore."
Those state-operated museums and monuments in New Mexico that will be participating in the Blue Star Museums program include the Museum of International Folk Art, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, New Mexico Museum of Art and the New Mexico History Museum/Palace of the Governors, all in Santa Fe; the Museum of Natural History & Science and the National Hispanic Cultural Center, both in Albuquerque; the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo; New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces; and six historic monuments statewide - Jemez, Coronado, Lincoln, the Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner, El Camino Real International Heritage Center and Fort Selden.