Penn Museum Extends Free Admission to Military Families through Blue Star Museums Program

PHILADELPHIA, PA, SUMMER 2016 — Active duty military personnel and their families searching for summer fun in the city can enjoy free admission to the Penn Museum Memorial Day through Labor Day* through Blue Star Museums, a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Military personnel and their families need only to show valid military or military family ID to receive complimentary admission for up to five family members. The complete list of participating museums is available at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.

The Blue Star Museums program complements the Penn Museum’s own year-round free admission offer for all active U.S. military personnel.

Blue Star Families reports that U.S. military families relocate ten times as often as civilian families, moving every two to three years to a new military installation. The Penn Museum’s international galleries can help military families draw connections to their world travels.

The Penn Museum’s signature galleries offer archaeological and anthropological insights into some of the cultures that currently host active duty personnel. Three gallery floors feature art and artifacts from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, North and Central America, Asia, Africa, and the ancient Mediterranean World. Special exhibitions include Native American Voices: The People—Here and Now and Magic in the Ancient World. A special ticketed exhibition, The Golden Age of King Midas, is available, for a $5 per person upcharge fee.

*Please note: Penn Museum is not open Mondays, including Memorial Day or Labor Day.

About the Penn Museum

The Penn Museum (the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) is dedicated to the study and understanding of human history and diversity. Founded in 1887, the Museum has sent more than 300 archaeological and anthropological expeditions to all the inhabited continents of the world. With an active exhibition schedule and educational programming for children and adults, the Museum offers the public an opportunity to share in the ongoing discovery of humankind's collective heritage.

The Penn Museum is located at 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (on Penn's campus, across from Franklin Field). Public transportation to the Museum is available via SEPTA's Regional Rail Line at University City Station; the Market-Frankford Subway Line at 34th Street Station; trolley routes 11, 13, 34, and 36; and bus routes 21, 30, 40, and 42. Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and first Wednesdays of each month until 8:00 pm, with P.M. @ PENN MUSEUM evening programs offered. Closed Mondays and holidays. Admission donation is $15 for adults; $13 for senior citizens (65 and above); free for U.S. Military; $10 for children and full-time students with ID; free to Members, PennCard holders, and children 5 and younger. For the special exhibition The Golden Age of King Midas, there is an additional $5/person charge (Free for Penn Museum Members, PennCard holders and children under 6).

Hot and cold meals and light refreshments are offered to visitors with or without Museum admission in The Pepper Mill Café; the Museum Shop offers a wide selection of gifts, books, games, clothing and jewelry. Penn Museum can be found on the web at www.penn.museum. For general information call 215.898.4000. For group tour information call 215.746.8183.

Photo: Midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy tour the Penn Museum (Photo: Penn Museum).