Garst Museum Free Admission
Smithsonian Magazine’s 7th Annual Museum Day 

Museum Day 2011 poised to be Largest to Date... Featured exhibits include Annie Oakley, Crossroads of Destiny, and Lowell Thomas 

Greenville, Ohio—On Saturday, September 24, 2011, Garst Museum will participate in the seventh annual Museum Day. Garst Museum will join participating museums and cultural institutions nationwide to open their doors free of charge to all visitors who download the Museum Day Ticket from Smithsonian.com.  Museum Day is a celebration of the dissemination of knowledge to anyone and everyone interested, without a price tag, emulating the free admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, D.C.-based facilities. 

With support from CITGO, Museum Day 2011 is poised to be the largest to date, outdoing last year’s record-breaking event.  In 2010, museum goers downloaded 227,747 tickets resulting in more than 500,000 museum-goers visiting over 1,300 venues in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. 

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 Darke County Historical Society operates Garst Museum.  The main exhibit attractions are The Annie Oakley Center, Crossroads of Destiny, a large collection of memorabilia from broadcaster and world traveler Lowell Thomas, and a gallery of Currier and Ives original prints.  Other exhibits included Zachary Lansdowne and the USS Shenandoah, Lohmann Brothers telescopes, early farm implements and household appliances.  The Iddings sprint race car, an early Indy-style racing car is also on display.  The museum complex also houses the Darke County Genealogy Library containing over 5000 surname files, family histories, court records and other records of interest to persons researching family history.  The museum complex is located at 205 North Broadway, Greenville, Ohio.  Hours of operation for Museum Day are 10 am to 4 pm. 

This year Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is participating in Museum Day and museum visitors will be encouraged to donate to this leading global breast cancer organization. 

The Museum Day Ticket is available to download at www.smithsonian.com/museumday. A list of participating museums is available at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/venues/. Visitors who present the official pass will gain free admission for two people to participating museums and cultural venues. One ticket is permitted per household, per email address. For more information about Smithsonian magazine Museum Day 2011 and links to participating museums’ and supporters’ sites, please visit Smithsonian.com/museumday.   

About Smithsonian Media 

Smithsonian Media comprises Smithsonian magazine, Air & Space, goSmithsonian, Smithsonian Media Digital Network and the Smithsonian Channel. Smithsonian Media’s flagship publication, Smithsonian magazine, is one of the nation’s largest magazines with a circulation of more than 2 million and nearly 7 million readers. Smithsonian Media is a division of Smithsonian Enterprises, the revenue-generating business unit of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum and research complex consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities. Approximately 30 million people from around the world visited the Smithsonian in 2010.