Blue Star Museums 2016

I've been checking the site for weeks, but there was no sign of the 2016 program, just information about 2015. When I looked late Monday, I noticed this year's program had been posted.

Blue Star Museums offers free admission to active duty military personnel including National Guard and Reserve and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2016. You can locate the participating venues around the country on the map provided here.

It is always best to research the venue you are attending prior to making your plans. In Massachusetts for instance avoiding a Free Fun Friday will provide you with fewer crowds and better access to the venue. Some venues also have additional costs for special programs offered.

People often use these discounts when traveling to visit family during the summer months or when family comes to visit.  Since the military discounts only cover immediate family, consider checking out other discounts for your guests. 

There are lots of ways to save money when visiting local venues.  For your guests who don't qualify for the Blue Star Museum discount, check out library passes, AAA, AARP, senior discounts, and local coupons to make the trip affordable for everyone who is going.  If you check out the venue's website it will sometimes list the types of discounts offered and you can check to see what options that provides for your party.  We've been known to combine library passes, with AAA, and a senior discount to cover a large family outing so everyone has an affordable day.  It takes research, but it can be done.

These are the venues participating in MA this year:

Acton:
The Discovery Museums

Amesbury:
Lowell's Boat Shop

Amherst:
Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst College

Andover:
Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy

Attleboro:
Attleboro Arts Museum
Mass Audubon at Oak Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary

Barnstable:
Mass Audubon - Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary

Belmont:
Mass Audubon - Habitat Education Center

Beverly:
Beverly Historical Society and Museum

Boston:
Bostonian Society
Historic New England
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Metropolitan Waterworks Museum, Inc.
Nichols House Museum
Old North Historic Site
Old South Meeting House
Paul S. Russell, MD Museum of Medical History and Innovation
Russell Museum at Massachusetts General Hospital
Shirley-Eustis House
The Bostonian Society
The Mary Baker Eddy Library

Cambridge:
Harvard Museum of Natural History
MIT Museum
Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology

Canton:
Mass Audubon - Museum of American Bird Art

Clinton:
Museum of Russian Icons

Dedham:
Dedham Historical Society & Museum

Deerfield:
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association & Memorial Hall Museum

Duxbury:
Duxbury Rural & Historical Society

East Sandwich:
Benjamin Nye Homestead & Museum

Easthampton:
Mass Audubon at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary

Edgartown:
Martha's Vineyard Museum
Mass Audubon Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary

Essex:
Cogswell's Grant

Fitchburg:
Fitchburg Art Museum

Framingham:
Danforth Art Museum\School

Gloucester:
Cape Ann Museum
Sargent House Museum

Harvard:
Fruitlands Museum

Haverhill:
Buttonwoods Museum
Haverhill Firefighting Museum
Whittier Birthplace

Hyannis:
John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum

Ipswich:
Ipswich Museum

Lenox:
Mass Audubon at Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

Lexington:
Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Lincoln:
deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
Historic New England- Gropius House
Mass Audubon - Drumlin Farm

Lynn:
Lynn Museum/LynnArts

Marshfield:
Historic Winslow House Association
Mass Audubon at North River Wildlife Sanctuary

Mattapan:
Mass Audubon at Boston Nature Center

Milton:
Blue Hills Trailside Museum

Nantucket:
Nantucket Historical Association
Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association
Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum

Natick:
Mass Audubon - Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

New Bedford:
New Bedford Art Museum/ArtWorks!
New Bedford Whaling Museum

Newburyport:
Mass Audubon at Joppa Flats Education Center

Norfolk:
Mass Audubon at Stony Brook

North Andover:
North Andover Historical Society

Northampton:
Smith College Museum of Art

Pittsfield:
Berkshire Museum

Princeton:
Mass Audubon - Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary

Quincy:
Quincy Homestead

Rehoboth:
Carpenter Museum

Salem:
Peabody Essex Museum

Sharon:
Mass Audubon Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

South Wellfleet:
Mass Audubon - Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
Mass Audubon at Wellfleet Bay

Springfield:
Springfield Museums

Stockbridge:
Norman Rockwell Museum

Sturbridge:
Old Sturbridge Village

Taunton:
Old Colony History Museum (OCHM)

Topsfield:
Mass Audubon Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary

Weston:
Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History

Williamstown:
Clark Art Institute

Worcester:
EcoTarium
Mass Audubon Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary
Worcester Historical Museum

Yarmouth Port:
Edward Gorey House