Historical Society to participate in Blue Star Museums

The Lorain County Historical Society will offer free admission to active duty and their families this summer through the ninth annual Blue Star Museums program, according to a news release.

The program is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense and museums across America.

More than 2,000 museums across the United States are participating in 2018 including science museums, fine art museums, zoos, nature centers and children’s museums.

A full list of participating museums is available at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.

The County Historical Society will welcome military families to their two Elyria locations: The Hickories, 509 Washington Ave.; and the Lorain County History Center, 284 Washington Ave.

Free admission through the program will be available for those currently serving in the United States Military – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard as well as active duty reservists, National Guardsmen (regardless of status), U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps, and up to five family members, the release said.

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.

The Hickories is open for guided tours from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 1 to 3 p.m. the first and third Saturdays of the month.

The History Center, in the historic Horace Starr house, is open for selfguided tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

Presently, the History Center has displays on WWI and WWII in its galleries including information about the involvement of Lorain County residents in the wars and on the home front.

The Blue Star Museum program runs through Sept. 3.

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 Endowment for the Arts 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.

The Lorain County Historical Society has a mission of serving all persons and organizations interested in Lorain County’s past, present and future by collecting, preserving, interpreting and presenting the history of Lorain County. Learn more at www.lchs.org.