Garst Museum Joins Smithsonian Magazine’s National Museum Day Live! Free Admission for All Participants

The National Annie Oakley Center, Crossroads of Destiny, Lowell Thomas-With Lawrence and Beyond

The Museum Day Live! Ticket will be available to download beginning in August at Smithsonian.com/museumday (not available at the museum). Visitors who present the Museum Day Live! Ticket will gain free entrance for two at participating venues for one day only. One ticket is permitted per household, per email address. For more information about Museum Day Live! 2012 and a list of participating museums and cultural institutions, please visit Smithsonian.com/museumday.

A studio pose taken in New York of
Annie Oakley, circa 1880

Greenville, Ohio—On Saturday September 29, 2012, Garst Museum and The National Annie Oakley Center will open its doors free of charge along with over 1,400 other participating venues for the eighth annual Museum Day Live! This immensely successful program, in which Garst Museum will emulate the free admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, D.C.-based facilities, encourages learning and the spread of knowledge nationwide.

Inclusive by design, Museum Day Live! fulfills Smithsonian Media’s mission to make cultural education accessible to everyone. For one day only, Garst Museum will grant free access to visitors who download a Museum Day Live! ticket at Smithsonian.com. Last year’s event drew over 350,000 museum-goers, and this year’s Museum Day Live! is expected to attract close to 400,000 participants.

Garst Museum executive director Dr. Clay Johnson stated that “We think it is important to participate in Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day. This is a great opportunity to be part of a nationwide observance of American heritage and culture.”

The Garst Museum complex is located at 205 North Broadway, (SR118N) in Greenville, OH; entrance is through the Garst House, which was built in 1852. The complex features six separate but connected buildings. The National Annie Oakley Center houses an extensive exhibit dedicated to the sharpshooter. Other exhibits focus on Native American history, the Treaty of Greene Ville, and broadcast journalism pioneer and nearby Woodington native, Lowell Thomas. There is a pioneer wing, an exhibit depicting a village of circa 1890-1930 shops, rooms furnished with American antiques, a military exhibit with uniforms dating from The War of 1812 through the present, and a large collection of Currier and Ives works. The Darke County Genealogical and Research Center is housed at the museum as well. Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 am to 4 pm and Sunday, 1 to 4 pm, closed Mondays, major holidays and the month of January.