The Minnesota Marine Art Museum (MMAM) and the Winona County Historical Society (WCHS), are joining museums nationwide in the Blue Star Museums initiative, a program that provides free admission to currently-serving U.S. military personnel and their families this summer. The 2021 program began on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 15, 2021, and will end on Labor Day, Monday, September 6, 2021.
Blue Star Museums is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in collaboration with Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and participating museums nationwide. Blue Star Families is the nation’s largest grass-roots military family support organization. Blue Star Museums include children’s museums, art, science, and history museums, zoos, gardens, lighthouses, and more, and hail from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A list of participating museums can be found at at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.
The Minnesota Marine Art Museum (800 Riverview Drive) engages visitors in meaningful visual art experiences through education and exhibitions that explore the ongoing and historic human relationship with water. The museum’s collections feature historic American and European masters, including works by Vicent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Georgia O’Keeffe, and John Jame Audubon. MMAM exhibits 8 to 10 temporary exhibitions annually featuring contemporary and historical collections on loan to the museum, all focusing on water. For a full list of exhibitions and programs that the museum offers, go to MMAM.org.
The Winona County History Center (160 Johnson St.) is the Winona County Historical Society’s main museum and is located in historic downtown Winona, MN. Housed in Winona’s 1915 National Guard Armory and the award-winning contemporary Laird Norton Addition, the History Center’s exhibits examine life in Winona County from early humans, local native communities, Euro-American settlement and immigrant cultures, to the diverse communities, businesses, art and events that tell the rich stories of this amazing region. WCHS also seasonally operates the Bunnell House, located in Homer, MN, and the Rural Heritage Museum on the Winona County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, MN. More information can be found at winonahistory.org.
The free admission program is available for those currently-serving in the United States Military—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard as well as members of the Reserves, National Guard, U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps, and up to five family members. Qualified members must show a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card for entrance into a participating Blue Star Museum.