Tallahassee’s historic Mission San Luis will host its first Military Family Day Saturday. Organizers say the museum is taking part in a nation-wide initiative.
Department of State spokesperson Brittany Lesser says activities will range from archery and a scavenger hunt to an exhibit of 300-year-old military artifacts excavated on site.
“We wanted to do a unique experience just for this Military Family Day to have an opportunity to enjoy the mission and see it maybe in a different way,” says Lesser.
She says the event is part of the Blue Star Museums Initiative, a collaborative effort between the National Endowment for the Arts and the United States Department of Defense, which aims to offer free admission to service members and their families at participating museums around the nation. Although Mission San Luis offers free admission to service members year-round, organizers hope to provide a new experience for park visitors through this event.
“We just owe our service men and women so much and we wanted to offer a unique programming just for Military Family Day following July 4th,” says Lesser.
Mission San Luis, Tallahassee’s only national landmark, was originally home to both Apalachee Indians and Spanish settlers and was the western capital of Spanish Florida in the second half of the 17th century. After being burned to the ground in 1704, it was reconstructed beginning in 1998 and now houses Florida’s Apalachee-Spanish Living History Museum.
Military Family Day will take place this Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and is open to the public with free admission for all active duty military and their families. More information about activities and admission is available by calling the museum at (850) 245-6406 or visiting missionsanluis.org.
