Relic Room to offer free summer admission to military and their families
May 17, 2022
As it has for several years, this summer the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum will participate in the Blue Star Museums initiative, a national program that provides free admission to currently-serving U.S. military personnel and their families.
The 2022 program at the Relic Room runs from Armed Forces Day — Saturday, May 21 — through Labor Day, which will be Sept. 5.
Find the list of participating museums across the country at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums. 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.
Participation means the Relic Room will provide free admission to military personnel and up to five family members every day of operation during the summer.
“This is in keeping with our museum’s tradition of supporting our military and offering free admission whenever practical,” said Allen Roberson, the director of the Relic Room. “Therefore we always appreciate the chance to work with Blue Star to expand that benefit in the summer.”
“We are grateful to the Relic Room for their leadership in strengthening community through their participation in the Blue Star Museums program,” Ann Eilers, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, said last year.
Blue Star Museums include children’s museums, art, science, and history museums, zoos, gardens, lighthouses, and more, in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The current list of participating museums will continue to develop over the summer, as organizations are welcome to register to be a Blue Star Museum throughout the summer.
The free-admission program is available for those currently serving in the United States military — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Space Force, as well as members of the Reserves, National Guard, U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps.
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.
Follow Blue Star Museums on Twitter: @NEAarts and @BlueStarFamily, #bluestarmuseums.
About the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum
Founded in 1896, the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum is an accredited museum focusing on South Carolina’s distinguished martial tradition through the Revolutionary War, Mexican War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the War on Terror, and other American conflicts. It serves as the state’s military history museum by collecting, preserving, and exhibiting South Carolina’s military heritage from the colonial era to the present, and by providing superior educational experiences and programming. It is located at 301 Gervais St. in Columbia, sharing the Columbia Mills building with the State Museum. For more information, go to https://crr.sc.gov/.
About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.
About Blue Star Families
Blue Star Families is the nation’s largest grass-roots military family support organization, with a mission to support military families to improve military readiness. Its distinctive approach builds stronger communities around military families through knowledge and programs that address the unique needs of those who serve. Blue Star Families’ nationally recognized surveys and analysis give military families an important voice that informs policymakers and its military family programs. It uses the power of its collective resources and cross-sector collaborations to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of members of military families to strengthen the troops, their families, and our nation as a whole. For more information, visit bluestarfam.org.
