Kentucky Historical Society
KHS to Participate in Blue Star Museums

FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 25, 2011) – The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) will participate in Blue Star Museums, a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Blue Star Families, and more than 1,300 museums across America to offer free admission to veterans and active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day, May 30, through Labor Day, Sept. 5, 2011.

Free admission to the KHS history campus will be available to veterans and active-duty military and their immediate family members, and will include access to the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History (including the newly renovated “Toyota Kentucky Hall of Governors”) and the Old State Capitol. This offer applies to veteran and active duty members of Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and National Guard and Reserve.

“Blue Star Museums may be the program at the NEA of which I am proudest,” said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. “Blue Star Museums recognizes and thanks our military families for all they are doing for our country and simultaneously begins young people on a path to becoming life-long museum goers.”

“Last year the success of the inaugural year of the Blue Star Museums program showed that partnerships between the nation’s museum and military communities are a natural,” said Blue Star Families Chairman Kathy Roth-Douquet. “We are thrilled that 300,000 military family members visited our partner museums in the summer of 2010. We hope to exceed that number this year as the military community takes advantage of the rich cultural heritage they defend and protect every day.”

More than 1,000 museums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and American Samoa are taking part in the initiative, including more than 500 new museums this year. Museums included represent not just fine arts museums, but also science museums, history museums, nature centers, and 70 children’s museums.

To learn more about current and upcoming exhibitions at KHS, visit www.history.ky.gov.

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An agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, the Kentucky Historical Society, established in 1836, is committed to helping people understand, cherish and share Kentucky's history. The KHS history campus includes the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, the Old State Capitol and the Kentucky Military History Museum at the Old State Arsenal.  For more information about the Kentucky Historical Society and its programs, visit the website at www.history.ky.gov.

The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector. To join the discussion on how art works, visit the NEA at www.arts.gov.