BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green is one of several museums nationwide participating in the Blue Star Museums initiative, which offers U.S. military personnel and their families free admission. 

The museum said the 2024 program will begin Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 18, and end Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2.

It is one of eight Kentucky museums participating. Some others include Louisville's Frazier History Museum and Covington's Behringer-Crawford Museum. A full list of participating museums can be found on arts.gov/BlueStarMuseums.

The initiative is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, in collaboration with the Department of Defense.

“The National Corvette Museum has celebrated and honored our military members by hosting an annual 'Vets ‘n Vettes' event for more than a decade, as well as offering special admission to military personnel and their families,” said Bryce Burklow, interim chief operations officer. “We look forward to our inaugural year as a Blue Star Museum and eagerly await to welcome new and returning military families to our Corvette campus.”

"Military families love Blue Star Museums, and we couldn’t run this program without the National Endowment for the Arts and the museums across the nation who show they care by participating,” said Blue Star Families CEO Kathy Roth-Douquet. “Access to museums enriches military families, creates wonderful family memories and helps us feel connected to our communities so that we can thrive and do the hard job we have to do for the country."

Along with the National Corvette Museum, the initiative also includes children's, art, science and history museums, zoos, gardens, lighthouses and more. Organizations interested in becoming a Blue Star Museum are welcome to register on the National Endowment for the Arts website. 

“Whether you are traveling this summer, getting to know a new duty location or exploring what your community has to offer, Blue Star Museums is a wonderful opportunity to create connection and find inspiration," said Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts.

The program is available for current U.S. Military members: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy and Space Force, along with members of the Reserves, National Guard, U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps and NOAA Commissioned Corps. Up to five family members can also receive free admission, the National Corvette Museum said.

Those qualified must show a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), DD Form 1173-1 ID card or the Next Generation Uniformed Services (Real) ID card for entrance. 

The National Corvette Museum, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, is located a mile from General Motors' Bowling Green Assembly Plant, which has manufactured every Corvette since 1981. It has 115,000 square feet of exhibit and event space, more than 100 historical Corvettes and 50,000 Corvette artifacts.