SBC to Participate in ‘Museum Day’

Free admission offered at many U.S. museums on Sept. 26

SUZANNE RAMSEY
College relations staff writer

On Saturday, Sept. 26, Sweet Briar College’s art galleries will participate in the Smithsonian Institution’s “Museum Day.”

On that day, participating museums all over the country — including most of the 50 states and Puerto Rico — will offer free general admission to patrons with a “Museum Day” admission card. The card can be downloaded on the Smithsonian’s Web site.

Sweet Briar’s galleries, which will be open that day for Homecoming, do not charge admission, so one might ask why the College is participating. Basically, it’s free advertising. “It’s a very low-key but effective way to let people know about the galleries here and that people other than students and professors are welcome to come,” galleries director Karol Lawson said.

In addition, Sweet Briar’s three galleries and their current exhibitions will be listed with other museums in an upcoming edition of Smithsonian magazine. “We’re just one of many,” Lawson said. “We’re part of a museum community.”

Participating museums within about an hour of Sweet Briar include Virginia Discovery Center in Charlottesville, Stonewall Jackson’s house in Lexington, Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest in Forest, and Amazement Square and the Maier Museum of Art in Lynchburg.

For more information and a complete list of participating museums, or to download your free admission card, visit the “Museum Day” Web site.