Memorial Day kicks off free museum admission for military personnel, families

Memorial Day marks the start of free museum admission for members of the U.S. military and their families.

The 2015 Blue Star Museums program offers free general admission to select museums nationwide for U.S. active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve. The promotion runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day, Sept. 7.

The program is organized by the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense and participating museums. Blue Star Families is a nonprofit organization that supports military families.

Official identification is required to obtain free admission at participating institutions. The offer is good for the military ID holder plus up to five family members. The active duty member doesn’t have to be present for family members to use the program.

In Southern California, more than 40 cultural institutions are participating in the Blue Star Museums program this year. Among the organizations on the list are the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Autry National Center and the Pasadena Museum of California Art.

Below is a select list of participating organizations, some of which already offer free admission on a daily basis.

Autry National Center of the American West
The Banning Museum
California Heritage Museum
Carnegie Art Museum
Chinese American Museum
Craft And Folk Art Museum
Descanso Gardens
Drum Barracks Civil War Museum
Escondido History Center
Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation
The GRAMMY Museum at L.A. LIVE
Hammer Museum
Heritage Square Museum
J. Paul Getty Museum
Japanese Friendship Garden Society of San Diego
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Map & Atlas Museum of La Jolla
MCRD Museum
Mingei International Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego -- Downtown and La Jolla locations
Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)
Museum of Photographic Arts
Museum of Ventura County
MUZEO Foundation
MUZEO Museum and Cultural Center
The New Children’s Museum
Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum
Palm Springs Art Museum
Pasadena Museum of California Art
Pasadena Museum of History
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
San Diego Botanic Garden
San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum
San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
San Diego Hall of Champions
San Diego History Center
The San Diego Museum of Art
San Dieguito Heritage Museum
Skirball Cultural Center
The Southern California Medical Museum
Toyota USA Automobile Museum
Veterans Museum and Memorial Center
Visions Art Museum: Contemporary Quilts + Textiles
Western Museum of Flight
Whittier Museum

William Heath Davis House Museum, GQHF

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT