Blue Star museums include 6 in region (ongoing)

photo The Cowan Railroad Museum in Cowan, Tenn., is among several museums in the state that are offering free admissions this summer to active-duty military members and their families.

BLUE STAR MUSEUMS AROUND THE REGIONTennessee• Chattanooga: Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View, 423-267-0968, www.huntermuseum.org• Cleveland: Museum Center at Five Points, 200 E. Inman St., 423-339-5745, museumcenter.org• Cowan: Cowan Railroad Museum, 108 Front St., 931-967-3078, cowanrailroadmuseum.org• Manchester: Arrowheads/Aerospace Museums, 24 Campground Road, 931-723-1323, www.cityofmanchestertn.comGeorgia• Rome: Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home, 501 Riverside Parkway, 706-291-9494, chieftainsmuseum.org• Rome: Rome Area History Museum, 305 Broad St., 706-235-8051, www.romehistorymuseum.org

Six museums in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia are among 2,000 across the United States offering free admission this summer to active-duty military personnel and their families.

The promotion, known as Blue Star Museums, is a collaboration between the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families and the Department of Defense.

Facilities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and American Samoa are taking part. The initiative added another 450 participants this year. The ranks include places devoted to fine arts, science, history, nature and children's education/entertainment.

The free admission program is available through Labor Day to any bearer of a Geneva Convention common access card, a DD Form 1173 ID card or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card, which includes active-duty U.S. military and up to five family members. The bearer grants access to anyone serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserve, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps or NOAA Commissioned Corps.

The complete list of participants can be found at www.nea.gov/national/bluestarmuseums/index2013.php.

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