Active-duty military personnel and their families receive free admission to American Ancestors’ family history exploration destination this summer
McGRATHPR.com – American Ancestors’ Family Heritage Experience (FHE), Boston’s immersive museum of family history, heritage, and culture, has been named a participating institution in the 2026 Blue Star Museums program. In recognition of the designation, active-duty military personnel and their families will receive free admission through September 5, 2026.
A nationwide initiative led by the National Endowment for the Arts in collaboration with Blue Star Families, Blue Star Museums provides free access to museums, historic sites, and cultural institutions across the country each summer. The program serves active-duty military members, including those in the National Guard and Reserve, and up to five family members.
Located on Boston’s historic Newbury Street, the Family Heritage Experience is an immersive museum dedicated to helping visitors discover how family history, heritage, and culture shape individual identity and connect people across generations. Through interactive exhibits, personal storytelling, and immersive digital displays, the FHE invites guests to explore the stories that make every family unique.
“We are honored to join the Blue Star Museums program and welcome military families to the Family Heritage Experience,” said Don Reagan, American Ancestors’ chief business development and marketing officer. “Military families have rich and often remarkable stories of service, sacrifice, migration, and resilience. We are proud to offer them an opportunity to explore their own heritage and help them connect with the broader American story.”
The Family Heritage Experience features engaging exhibits that encourage visitors to discover their roots, understand the historical forces that shaped their families, and explore the diverse cultural traditions that contribute to the American experience. As the public-facing permanent exhibit of American Ancestors, the FHE draws on the organization’s nearly 180 years of expertise in family history and genealogical research.
To receive free admission through the Blue Star Museums program, active-duty military personnel should present a valid military ID upon arrival. Eligible participants include members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force, National Guard, Reserve components, commissioned officers of the Public Health Service, and commissioned officers of the NOAA Corps, along with their families.
For more information about the Blue Star Museums program, visit bluestarfam.org/family-life/blue-star-museums. For more information about American Ancestors’ Family Heritage Experience, visit fhe.americanancestors.org.
Planning Your Visit: The Family Heritage Experience and gift shop on the first floor of American Ancestors at 97 Newbury Street, Boston, MA, is open weekly Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 am to 6 pm. The facility is located near Copley Square and the Arlington and Copley Green line T stations. For more information, including accessibility and amenities, visit fhe.americanancestors.org.
About the Family Heritage Experience
The Family Heritage Experience—an interactive, state-of-the-art exhibition that introduces visitors to the joy of family history research—was launched in 2025 by American Ancestors®, a national center for family history, heritage & culture. The Family Heritage Experience is located on the first floor of American Ancestors’ headquarters at 97 Newbury Street, in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, visit fhe.americanancestors.org.
About American Ancestors
American Ancestors® is a national nonprofit center for family history, heritage & culture based in Boston, Massachusetts, that has been setting the gold standard for genealogical research since its founding in 1845. Today, American Ancestors serves 400K+ members and subscribers through americanancestors.org, one of the world’s largest online collections of family history resources. In 2025, American Ancestors launched the Family Heritage Experience, an interactive, state-of-the-art exhibition that introduces visitors to the joy of family history research, located at 97 Newbury Street at our headquarters in Boston. American Ancestors is also home to the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center, which preserves New England’s Jewish history, and 10 Million Names, a project dedicated to finding the names of the enslaved men, women, and children in pre- and post-colonial America before emancipation. For more information, visit americanancestors.org.
