ODU’s Gordon Art Galleries Offer Free Guided Tours to Active-duty Military and Their Families

May 21, 2013

The Old Dominion University Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries are joining a nationwide initiative that offers free museum admission to active-duty military personnel and their families Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Although the ODU galleries do not charge for admission, and therefore cannot reduce entrance fees like other participating museums, special guided tours of the exhibitions and collections by curator Ramona Austin will be provided upon request, said Fred Bayersdorfer, director of the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries and assistant to the dean, College of Arts and Letters.

To request a tour, visitors may call the galleries at 757-683-6271 or contact Austin at 757-683-6272.

The Blue Star Museums initiative is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the U.S. Department of Defense and more than 1,800 museums across the country. The program runs from May 27 through Sept. 2, 2013.

Blue Star Families is a national, nonprofit network of military families from all ranks and services, including guard and reserve, which is "dedicated to supporting, connecting and empowering military families," according to the organization.

"Blue Star Museums is something that service members and their families look forward to every year and we are thrilled with the continued growth of the program," said Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO of Blue Star Museums. "Through this distinctive collaboration ... service members and their families can connect with our national treasures with this unparalleled opportunity to visit some of the country's finest museums for free."

For more information about the initiative, including other participating Hampton Roads museums, visit the Blue Star Museums website.