Museums Free For Military Families, Thanks Partly To NEA

Members of the military and their families will get free admission to hundreds of museums from Memorial Day through Labor Day thanks to a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities, the institutions and a service group known as Blue Star Families.

The more than 600 participating museums are calling themselves the Blue Star Museums. The list includes the nation's best known museums. You name it and it's likely on the list.

The NEA has over the years been a target of conservatives who have labeled it a far left wing organization that promotes decadent and sacrilegious art. But it's hard to see any controversy coming from the NEA's participation in getting service members and their families into museums for free. Maybe the NEA will build up so good will with some conservatives who've been previously disposed to detesting it.

An excerpt from the NEA's press release:

"America's museums are proud to join the rest of the country in thanking our military personnel and their families for their service and sacrifice," said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. "I cannot imagine a better way to do that than welcoming them in to explore and enjoy the extraordinary cultural heritage our museums present. The works of art on view this summer will certainly inspire and challenge viewers -- and sometimes they will just be a great deal of fun."

"There have always been wonderful examples of partnerships between museums and military installations, but the scale of this gift from the museum community to military families is thrilling," said Blue Star Families Chairman Kathy Roth-Douquet. "Military families work hard for this country, and it is gratifying for us to be recognized for that. We anticipate that thousands of military families will participate in the program and visit museums this summer -- many of them for the first time. Blue Star Families will work hard to help our military families make the most of these opportunities."

In addition to being Chairman of Blue Star Families, Ms. Roth-Douquet is married to a Marine Corps officer, who is currently deployed to Afghanistan. They have two children, and Ms. Roth-Douquet and the children plan to take a road trip this summer to visit Blue Star Museums up and down the East Coast.