Eight Sacramento area museums are participating in Blue Star Museums to offer free admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve, from Armed Forces Day on May 16 through Labor Day on September 7, 2026. A partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families in collaboration with the Department of Defense and museums across America, the local museums participating in the 2026 Blue Star Museums program include the following: Aerospace Museum of California, California Automobile Museum, California Museum, Crocker Art Museum, Fairytale Town, Sacramento Children’s Museum, Sacramento History Museum, and SMUD Museum of Science & Curiosity (MOSAC).
The free admission program is available for those currently serving in the United States Military–Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, including Reservists, National Guardsman (regardless of status), 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 complimentary entrance into a participating Blue Star Museum.
Before planning a visit, guests are encouraged to contact the individual museums for hours of operation and note some are normally closed on Mondays and in observance of holidays such as Memorial Day and Labor Day.
For more information or a complete list of participating Blue Star museums, please visit https://www.arts.gov/initiatives/blue-star-museums. For more information about upcoming activities offered by Sacramento area museums, “like” them on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SacMuseums, follow them on Instagram @SacMuseums, or visit www.SacMuseums.org.
