Historic Columbia to Participate in Blue Star Museums
May 21, 2015
COLUMBIA, SC – From Memorial Day through Labor Day 2015, Historic Columbia will offer active duty military personnel and their families free tours of its historic house museums as part of the Blue Star Museums program.
A collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense and more than 2,000 museums across America, Blue Star Museums offer free admission to the nation’s active duty military personnel including National Guard and Reserve and their families from May 25 to Sept. 7. This program provides families an opportunity to enjoy the nation’s cultural heritage and learn more about their new communities after a military move.
“Historic Columbia is proud to be a Blue Star Museum,” said Robin Waites, executive director of HC. “Through this collaboration, service members and their families can experience Columbia and Richland County’s rich history, and we are thrilled to give back to those who give so much for our country.”
Historic Columbia provides tours of the Robert Mills House, Hampton-Preston Mansion, Mann-Simons Site and Woodrow Wilson Family Home, South Carolina’s only presidential site, every day of the week except Mondays. Tours depart at the top of the hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdaythrough Saturday and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday; visit historiccolumbia.org for the complete schedule of tours. Purchase admission at the Gift Shop at Robert Mills at 1616 Blanding St. All tours begin at the Gift Shop.
The Blue Star Museums free admission program is available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), a DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card, which includes active duty U.S. military—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserve, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps—and up to five family members.
More than 2,000 (and counting) museums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and American Samoa are participating in Blue Star Museums, including history and science museums, children’s museums, fine arts museums and nature centers. For more information, visitwww.arts.gov/national/blue-star-museums.
About Historic Columbia
In November 1961, a small group of individuals intent on saving the Ainsley Hall House from demolition officially incorporated as the Historic Columbia Foundation. Over the next five decades the organization, which was founded on the premise of preservation and education, would take on the stewardship of seven historic properties in Richland County. Today, the organization serves as a model for local preservation efforts and interpretation of local history. Visit historiccolumbia.org or find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube for more details.
