Oscar Anderson House Museum opens for summer season

Continuing the RSVP program from last year, visitors are encouraged to reserve their tour online. Tours are about one hour in length. Group size is limited t0 eight people, although larger groups can visit through advance special arrangements. The online reservation assures visitors of being able to visit at a time convenient for them.

The reservation program is secure and can be found at http://oscarandersonhousemuseum.org. Members of Preservation Alaska, Museums Alaska, and Alaska Residents are admitted free of charge along with military families participating in the Blue Start Museum Program. Adults are $10; Children age 12 and under are $5.00; Senior Citizens are $5.00

The museum is again joining museums nationwide in participating in the Blue Star Museums, a program which provides free admission to our nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families this summer.  Blue Star Museums is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in collaboration with Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums nationwide.

“We are pleased to be continuing with this program this year,” says Preservation Alaska president, Trish Neal. Neal stated that the program has been highly successful at the Oscar Anderson House Museum.

This year’s participating organizations include fine art, science, history, and children’s museums, as well as zoos, aquariums, gardens, and more. Oscar Anderson House Museum is the only museum in Anchorage participating.

Other Alaska museums participating in the program are Friends of the Tanana Valley Railroad, Fairbanks; Alaska State Museum, Juneau; Tongass Historical Museum and Totem Heritage Center, Ketchikan; Alaska Railroad Museum & Nenana Depot, Nenana; Alaska State Museum – Sheldon Jackson Museum, Sitka; and Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum, Valdez.

Members of the military can find the list of participating museums at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.

The free admission program is available for those currently serving in the United States Military—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard as well as members of the Reserves, National Guard, 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 entrance into a participating Blue Star Museum.

The Oscar Anderson House belongs to the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) having been donated to the city by the Oscar Anderson Family. It is operated through an agreement with MOA by Preservation Alaska (dba Alaska Association for Historic Preservation).  More information can be found at www.OscarAndersonHouseMuseum.org or on Facebook.