Blue Star Museums, a national partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, brought its number of participating museums to 1,500 on Friday, July 29. The Sheridan County Museum in Sheridan, Wyoming, was the 1,500th museum to join the program. The Blue Star Museums partnership offers free museum admission to active duty military members and their families between Memorial Day and Labor Day of this year. Since its launch in May, the program has grown from 1,300 participating museums to 1,500.
Connie Milstein, a member of the Blue Star Families Board of Directors and a philanthropist active in both New York City and Washington, DC, has dedicated herself to helping not only military families but expanding access to the arts and sciences to everyone. In 2007, Connie launched the Collegiate Seminar Program, an exclusive program for NYU freshmen entering the College of Arts and Science. The faculty leading the Collegiate Seminar Program not only educates the university’s youngest minds but serve as mentors to the students throughout their time as undergraduates. Connie was presented with the College of Arts and Science Distinguished Service award in 2009 by the school.
Connie currently resides in Washington, DC, where there are nearly 30 museums participating in the Blue Star Museums program, including the Smithsonian Museums, the National Zoological Park, the Phillips Collection, the Woodrow Wilson House and more.