Military free-for-all: Speed Museum joins Blue Star

By Rae Hodge–

The Speed Art Museum is opening its doors much wider for active duty military members and their families, who can expect free admission to the museum until Sept. 2 of this year.

The Speed Art Museum joined with 1,600 art exhibits, science centers, and museums across the nation to provide these services as a part of the Blue Star Museums initiative.

Kristen Popp, Communications Manager for the Speed, said “We were approached by the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, who created this collaboration. So when they asked us to be a part of it we thought, of course, this is an excellent opportunity to give back to our military families.”

The open-door policy began May 26, but Popp says that the museum has already begun seeing families take advantage of it. “We have a great exhibition right now that features a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence,” said Popp, “and the two go hand-in-hand.”

The William J. Stone Copy of the Declaration of Independence is one of only 31 surviving copperplate engravings, commissioned by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams in 1820 after the original document began deteriorating.

The final day of the museum’s operation before a 3 year closure for renovations will be Sept. 23, which Popp says will be marked with closing festivities to be announced closer to the date.

The following is a schedule of the museum’s current hours of operations: