The Woodlands Children’s Museum to celebrate Veterans’ Day

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – The Woodlands Children’s Museum celebrates Veterans’ Day all year long – by inviting service members and their families to enjoy the museum without charge.

The free admission was made possible through a collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families and the Department of Defense, through the Blue Star Museums program.

The national program runs annually from Memorial Day to Labor Day – but The Woodlands Children’s Museum continues offering free admission to service members and their families throughout the year.

“We also give the families membership privileges, including discounted prices on classes and birthday parties,” the museum’s executive director Angela Colton said.

She explained that the museum does not receive funding from the program and that participation is purely voluntary. Any museum may participate – and so far, there are 2,000 organizations around the country that have signed up in the Blue Star Museums program.

“Being a Blue Star Museum allows military families to participate in all of the educational exhibits, events and resources that The Woodlands Children’s Museum has to offer,” Colton said.

Blue Star Museums provide free admittance to any bearer of a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), a DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card which includes active duty U.S. military - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserve, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps - and up to five family members.

The Woodlands Children’s Museum has the honor of being one of 12 Houston-area museums selected to be a part of this collaboration.

“We are proud to honor our local service members by hosting their families in activities that are fun and rewarding,” Colton said. “It is a small way we can say thank you for their devotion and service to our country.”

The museum is also a drop-off point for Operation Military Embrace, a local nonprofit that serves veterans, as well as U.S. troops overseas.

“We collect donations during the year but we encourage visitors to bring more during the holidays -- and Veteran's Day is the perfect time to show our troops some love,” Colton said.

The museum collects coffee, EmergenC, batteries, school supplies, laundry detergent, personal care items, beef jerky, granola bars, snacks, gift cards and donations by personal check payable to “Operation Military Embrace.”

The Woodlands Children’s Museum, located at 4775 W. Panther Creek Dr. Suite 280, offers a full calendar of exciting activities and a number of outreach programs for the community. To learn more about the museum, its hours of operation and ways to support the nonprofit, call 281-465-0955 or visit woodlandschildrensmuseum.org.