For the 9th consecutive year, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md. is participating in the national Blue Star Museums program to offer free, general admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their spouses/partners and up to three children from Armed Forces Day on May 18 through Labor Day on Sept. 2.
Located near the nation’s capital on the Chesapeake Bay’s Eastern Shore, CBMM’s 18-acre waterfront campus offers 12 exhibition buildings to explore in a few hours or over multiple visits. Highlights of the experience include climbing and exploring the 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse; taking in an art exhibition; interacting with shipwrights restoring authentic, wooden Chesapeake boats; renting a small craft to paddle the Miles River on your own; taking a river cruise on the 1920 buyboat Winnie Estelle; engaging in numerous hands-on exhibitions and family-oriented activities; and other programming and events.
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to celebrate the tenth summer of collaborating with Blue Star Families, Department of Defense, and especially for the more than 2,000 museums across our nation that make this program possible,” said Mary Anne Carter, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “Organizations such as the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum are providing wonderful opportunities for military families to share a memorable experience together this summer.”
“We’ve seen the tremendous impact the Blue Star Museums program brings to our military families, and we’re thrilled to be celebrating a decade of support,” said Kathy Roth-Douquet, chief executive officer of Blue Star Families. “Not only are museums fun to explore, they are also great for making memories and strengthening military families as a whole.”
The free admission program is available for those currently serving in the United States Military—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard as well as members of the Reserves, National Guard, U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps, and their spouses/partners and up to three children. 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 list of 2019 participating Blue Star Museums is at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.
This year at CBMM, guests can experience the build of a new Maryland Dove, beginning June 1, and the restoration of the 1912 tug Delaware, now underway in the shipyard through 2020. Special exhibitions include On Land and On Sea: A Century of Women in the Rosenfeld Collection, which opens May 18; Beach Finds of the Chesapeake, which continues through June 29; and Deconstructing Decoys: The Culture of Collecting, which continues in CBMM’s Waterfowling building through Nov. 1.
The program excludes festival admission, with CBMM also offering free, year-round general admission to all active military individuals.
Free, on-site parking is available, with many of the historic town of St. Michaels’ shops, restaurants, and inns within walking distance of CBMM. For more information, go to cbmm.org or call 410-745-2916.
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