More than 1,600 US museums to open doors for free to military families throughout the summer

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

More than 1,600 US museums to open doors for free to military families throughout the summer
By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, May 22, 2:27 AM

WASHINGTON — More than 1,600 museums across the country will offer free admission to active-duty military personnel and their families this summer in a program that has more than doubled in size since 2010.

The expanded Blue Star Museums initiative will be announced Tuesday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City where more than 40 museums are participating. The offer of free admission runs from Memorial Day until Labor Day at sites nationwide.

The program began in 2010 as a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families and the Defense Department. It’s adding 300 new museums this year. The participating sites include art museums, science centers, history museums, nature centers and about 70 children’s museums.

~snip~
First lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, also are helping to promote the effort this year through their Joining Forces initiative to support military families. It comes at an important time for military families and can be a way to welcome military families to new communities as they often relocate, said Navy Capt. Brad Cooper, executive director of Joining Forces.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/more-than-1600-us-museums-to-open-doors-for-free-to-military-families-throughout-the-summer/2012/05/22/gIQAsl4IhU_story.html

[fasttense]

1. I remember a time when most museums were free to everyone.

That was before Raygun conned his way into the whitehouse through deals with Iranian terrorist.

Now, you have to have a relative put their life on the line for corporate America to get in free to a museum. Wow, what an improvement.

[CBGLuthier]

2. another step on the road to fascism

worship the military. Create two classes of citizens.

[midnight]

4. True....

[dipsydoodle]

7. They had already returned to being so in the UK back in 2001

For everyone. That's our National Museums.

Some details here : http://www.insights.org.uk/articleitem.aspx?title=To+Charge+or+not+to+Charge+%E2%80%93+Museums%2527+Admission+Dilemma

[bowens43]

3. Why?

Why the special treatment?

[may3rd]

9. Because

nobody goes to museums the way they go to carnival freak show attractions or sporting events ?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

5. Why shouldn't the museums be free to everybody?

Isn't this what their founders intended?

How much money is being drained off for the benefit of trustees, administrators, and related parties?

[may3rd]

10. The founders of museums, you will discover, were mostly

the filthy rich
and philanthropy gave back what they accumulated in a lifetime.

Maybe one day when he is old and wise, Mark Zuckerberg will do the same.
\
Unless he dies poor and penniless

[AnotherMcIntosh]

11. It is, of course, common knowledge that the philanthropists were rich people who gave back

a portion of what they accumulated.

A difference between the super rich who founded the museums at earlier time periods is that they considered themselves Americans rather than tax-avoiding citizens of the world. Even Andrew Carneigie was Americanized.

You are more confidence than I with respect to the future philanthropic nature of Mark Zuckerberg with respect to this country.

[CTyankee]

15. Unfortunately, some of them were not so nice to their workers.

There were those, of course, who truly wanted Americans to have exposure to the arts and helped start museums with that purpose in mind. Others gave their money to the arts, started museums with large endowments, but were SOBs when it came to business practices.

In art philanthropy, getting your name on a museum was your way of buying immortality. They had to money to buy everything else, except that, so this was their way of giving it a shot.

Don't get me wrong. I love that we have the art we have because of them. But their motives and their other practices weren't that terrific...

[Posteritatis]

12. Should be, but government generally hates them, so visitors have to pick up the tab. (nt)

[AnotherMcIntosh]

13. The government hates them? Are you talking about the museums? Or the visitors?

[Posteritatis]

14. The museums. (nt)

[unc70]

6. Most museums in NC are free to everyone

For example, the NC Museum of Art is free for everything except for special exhibitions. Photography is also permitted in the main galleries. It is great to see school kids taking pictures of friends and favorite works.

[Johnny Rico]

8. Good. It's nice to see stories like this.