Meet some of the veterans on our staff: (from left) Diana Garcia, Genji Lamansky, Daniel Jimenez, Marlon Peralta, Shuzo Uemoto, Patrick Canonigo and Budd Lauer

This summer, Honolulu Museum of Art—along with 2,000 other museums around the country—is expressing our appreciation to active servicemembers by participating in Blue Star Museums, a collaboration between the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families and the Department of Defense. As part of the program, HoMA is offering active-duty military personnel and their families free admission as well as 10 percent off purchases in the Museum Shop from May 18 to September 2.

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 up to five family members. 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.

This year’s participating organizations hail from all 50 states, as well as Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, and include fine art, science, history, and children’s museums, as well as zoos, aquariums, gardens, and more. “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, in a press release. “Not only are museums fun to explore but are also great for making memories and strengthening military families as a whole.” 

HoMA has participated in the program every summer since it began in 2009 so, in honor of the collaboration’s tenth year, we sat down with a few of the many veterans on our staff to hear their stories and learn how they transitioned to working the arts. We are proud to have veterans working in virtually every museum department including visitor services, communications, development, operations and security who have previously served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard and other branches of the military at some point in their careers. We will be sharing their stories in future blog posts throughout the summer.

If you see any of HoMA’s veterans next time you visit, please remember to thank them for their service!blog_bluestar