Blue Star Museums 2018

The Blue Star Museum program begins again over Memorial Day and will continue through Labor Day. The program offers free admission at participating museums to all active duty, reserve, and National Guard military personnel and their families. The program operates around the country and the website provides an interactive map you can use to locate venues here.

As always, I suggest checking out the site you want to visit before traveling there to get more information.

When I checked out this year's list, the following Massachusetts sites were participating:

Acton:
The Discovery Museums

Amesbury:
Lowell's Boat Shop

Amherst:
Beneski Museum of Natural History
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

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

Barnstable:
Mass Audubon at Long Pasture Wildlife Santuary

Belmont:
Mass Audubon at Habitat Education Center

Beverly:
Historic Beverly

Boston:
Historic New England Otis House Museum
Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Nichols House Museum
Old South Meeting House
The Mary Baker Eddy Library
The Sports Museum
USS Constitution Museum
Willaim Hickling Prescott House/NSCDA

Cambridge:
Harvard Museum of Natural History
MIT List Visual Arts Center Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology/Harvard

Canton:
Mass Audubon at Museum of American Bird Art

Clinton:
Museum of Russian Icons

Deerfield:
Historic Deerfield
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association

Duxbury:
Duxbury Rural & Historical Society

Easthampton:
Mass Audubon at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary

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

Essex:
Cogswell's Grant
Essex Shipbuilding Museum

Gloucester:
Cape Ann Museum
Sargent House Museum

Granville:
NCCHP:

Haverhill:
Buttonwoods Museum

Holyoke:
Wistariahurst

Hyannis:
John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum

Ipswich:
Ipswich Museum

Lenox:
Mass Audubon at Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

Lincoln:
Mass Audubon at Drumlin Farm

Marshfield:
1699 Winslow House Museum
Mass Audubon at North River Wildlife Sanctuary

Mattapan:
Mass Audubon at Boston Nature Center

Medford:
Royall House and Slave Quarters

Milton:
Mass Audubon at Blue Hills Trailside Museum

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

Natick:
Mass Audubon at Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

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

Newburyport:
Mass Audubon at Joppa Flats Education Center:

Newton:
Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds of Historic Newton
Jackson Homestead and Museum
Norfolk:
Mass Audubon at Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary

North Andover:
North Andover Historical Society

North Easton:
Children's Museum in Easton

Northampton:
Smith College Museum of Art

Princeton:
Mass Audubon at Wachusett Meadow

Salem:
Peabody Essex Museum

South Wellfleet:
Mass Audubon at Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
Springfield:
Springfield Museums

Stockbridge:
Norman Rockwell Museum

Taunton:
Old Colony History Museum

Topsfield:
Mass Audubon at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary

Waltham:
Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation
Historic New England Lyman Estate

Wenham:
Wenham Museum

Westport:
Mass Audubon at Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary

Williamstown:
Clark Art Institute
Williams College Museum of Art

Worcester:
Mass Audubon at Broad Meadow Brook
Worcester Art Museum

Yarmouth Port:
Edward Gorey House
Historic New England Winslow Crocker House

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

Blue Star Museums 2014

The Blue Star Museum program began again over Memorial Day and will continue through Labor Day. The program offers free admission at participating museums to all active duty, reserve, and National Guard military personnel and their families. The program operates around the country and the website provides an interactive map you can use to locate venues here.

As always, I suggest checking out the site you want to visit before traveling there to get more information.

When I checked out this year's list, the following Massachusetts sites were participating:

Acton:
The Discovery Museums

Amesbury:
Lowell's Boat Shop

Amherst:
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

Boston:
Gibson House Museum
Historic New England
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Nichols House Museum
Old South Meeting House
The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
The Mary Baker Eddy Library
The Old State House - America's Revolutionary Museum
USS Constitution Museum

Brookline:
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site

Cambridge:
Harvard Museum of Natural History
MIT List Visual Arts Center
Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology/Harvard

Clinton:
Museum of Russian Icons

Concord:
Concord Museum
Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House

Dedham:
Dedham Historical Society & Museum
The Fairbanks House

Duxbury:
Duxbury Rural and Historical Society

Easthampton:
Mass Audubon Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary

Edgartown:
Martha's Vineyard Museum

Falmouth:
Falmouth Museums on the Green

Harvard:
Fruitlands Museum

Haverhill:
Buttonwoods Museum
Haverhill Firefighting Museum
John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace

Hyannis:
John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum Foundation, Inc

Lexington:
Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Lincoln:
deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
Drumlin Farm Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary
Mass Audubon Drumlin Farm

Lowell:
New England Quilt Museum

Medford:
Royall House and Slave Quarters
N. Easton
Friends of Borderland

Nantucket:
Nantucket Historical Association
Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association
Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum affiliate of the Egan Maritime Institute

Natick:
Mass Audubon Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

New Bedford:
New Bedford Art Museum/ArtWorks!
New Bedford Whaling Museum
The New Bedford Museum of Glass

Newton:
Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds
The Jackson Homestead and Museum

North Andover:
North Andover Historical Society

North Easton:
Children's Museum in Easton

Northampton:
Smith College Museum of Art

Pittsfield:
Berkshire Museum

Roxbury:
The Shirley-Eustis House Museum

Salem:
Peabody Essex Museum

Scituate:
Maritime & Irish Mossing Museum

South Wellfleet:
Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary

Springfield:
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Springfield Museums

Stockbridge:
Norman Rockwell Museum

Sturbridge:
Old Sturbridge Village

Taunton:
Old Colony Historical Society

Watertown:
Historical Society of Watertown

Wenham:
Wenham Museum

Weston:
Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History

Williamstown:
Clark Art Institute

Worcester:
EcoTarium
Worcester Art Museum
Worcester Historical Museum

Yarmouth Port:
Edward Gorey House

Blue Star Museums 2012

The Blue Star Museum program has launched again for 2012. The program began May 28 and will end Labor Day, Monday September 3. Participating Museums provide free admission for active duty personnel and their family. On the website you will find a map that provides a listing by state of the sites participating here. I am not sure why, but I found the map worked better in when I ran it in Firefox rather than Internet Explorer. As always, I suggest checking with the site you want to visit to get more information, prior to your day of travel.

As of this writing, the following Massachusetts venues were listed as participants:

Acton
The Discovery Museums

Amesbury
Lowell's Boat Shop

Amherst
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
Mead Art Museum at Amherst College

Andover
Addison Gallery of American Art

Attleboro
Attleboro Arts Museum

Beverly
Beverly Historical Society

Boston
Historic New England Boston
Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Massachusetts Historical Society
Museum of Fine Arts
National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Massachusetts
Nichols House Museum
Old South Meeting House
USS Constitution Museum
Waterworks Museum
The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston

Cambridge
Harvard Art Museums
Harvard Museum of Natural History
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Clinton
Museum of Russian Icons

Concord
Concord Museum
Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House

Dedham
The Fairbanks House

Edgartown
Martha's Vineyard Museum

Fitchburg
Top Fun Aviation Toy Museum

Harvard
Fruitlands Museum

Haverhill
Haverhill Firefighting Museum

Hingham
Hingham Historical Society

Lincoln
deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

Lowell
Whistler House Museum of Art

Lynn
Lynn Museum and Historical Society

Mashpee
The Cape Cod Children's Museum

N. Easton
Ames Mansion - Friends of Borderland

Nahant
Nahant Historical Society

Nantucket
African Meeting House; Museum of African American History
Egan Maritime Institute
Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association
Nantucket Historical Association

New Bedford
New Bedford Whaling Museum
Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum

Newton
Historic Newton

North Andover
North Andover Historical Society

North Easton
Children's Museum in Easton

North Grafton
The Willard House & Clock Museum

Pittsfield
Berkshire Museum

Rehoboth
Carpenter Museum

Roxbury
The Shirley-Eustis House Museum

Salem
Peabody Essex Museum
Salem Museum

Sandwich
Heritage Museums & Gardens

Springfield
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Springfield Museums

Stockbridge
Norman Rockwell Museum

Taunton
Old Colony Historical Society

Waltham
Gore Place

Watertown
Historical Society of Watertown

Wenham
Wenham Museum

Williamstown
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute

Worcester
EcoTarium
Worcester Art Museum
Worcester Historical Museum

Yarmouth Port
Edward Gorey House

Discovery Museums

If you live in Massachusetts or will be visiting the area with children and have not discovered the Discovery Museums in Acton, you should add them to your list of places to visit.

The museums are focused on child-centered hands on learning. The picture above is of the Children's Discovery Museum. When you arrive, you will see this building first. The museum is an old Victorian building that focuses on younger children providing age appropriate activities. One ticket price provides admission to both museums so there is no need to decide which museum is better suited to your child. You can explore both and decide where to focus your time.

Library passes are available at many Massachusetts libraries. The Discovery Museum website even provides a list of the participating libraries for visitors to check when planning your visit. AAA members can also receive a $1.00 discount off admission for the member and up to three guests. While I usually do not usually promote membership, if you live in the area, the extra hours for members can make considering museum membership a possibility. If you visit frequently and your children enjoy a place to play during the cold winter months, the memberships can pay off. I would suggest taking your children a few times to see if you would visit often enough to make membership worth the cost.

The Chain Reaction Room was an early favorite at the Museum and it has returned to the delight of many of the guests.

This is the Science Discovery Museum. It was built after the Children's Museum opened and is focused on hands on science discovery for children. The rooms are larger and a bit more accessible than those found in the old Victorian house. The additional space allows the Museum to provide special programs and activities that the Children's Museum does not have the space to offer.

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Blue Star Museums

I recently heard about this initiative and wanted to pass on the information. The Blue Star Museums program started in the summer of 2010. The program is continuing this summer. Blue Star Museums are museums that offer free entrance to active duty personnel and their families from Memorial Day, May 30, 2011 to Labor Day September 5, 2011. The FAQ page states five immediate family members may attend with appropriate documentation. If you click on the FAQ link, you can get information about the documentation required and answers to other questions you may have.

The NEA provides a map of the covered museums by state. This can help you find out which museums in your area or places you plan to visit this summer are participating. If you have military family visiting this summer, you also may want to check out which museums are participating, as this can be an inexpensive way to have a family outing. As I wrote about previously the more discounts you use, the more outings you can afford to have on your vacation.