Free Admission for Museum Day Live!

For the ninth year in a row, the Museum of East Tennessee History will offer free admission on Saturday, September 24, 2016, in celebration of Smithsonian magazine’s annual Museum Day Live!

The event represents the commitment of the Smithsonian and other museums to make learning and the spread of knowledge accessible to everyone, giving museums across all 50 states the opportunity to emulate the admission policy of the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C.  Last year’s event drew more than 200,000 participants, and this year’s event expects to attract more museum goers than ever before.

Visitors who present the Museum Day Live! ticket will gain free entrance for two at participating museums on September 24 for this one day only. One ticket is permitted per household, per email address. The Museum Day Live! ticket can be downloaded at smithsonian.com/museumday. 

About the East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum

At the Museum of East Tennessee History, visitors will enjoy a variety of exhibits, including the award-winning Voices of the Land: The People of East Tennessee exhibition, featuring three centuries of life in the region, and the East Tennessee Streetscape and Corner Drug Store. Also on exhibit is Come to Make Records: Knoxville’s Contributions to American Popular Music, an exhibition that explores the 1929 and 1930 Brunswick Records' Vocalion label’s recordings that took place at the St. James Hotel in downtown Knoxville and invited locals to come make records. These old-time, jazz, blues, and gospel recordings added Knoxville's voice to American popular music and inspired the next generation of country music stars.

Established in 1834, the East Tennessee Historical Society is one of the most active history organizations in the state and enjoys a national reputation for excellence in programming and education. For 182 years the East Tennessee Historical Society has been helping East Tennesseans hold on to our unique heritage—recording the events, collecting the artifacts, and saving the stories that comprise the history we all share.

The historical society pursues its education mission through publications, lectures, conferences, school programs, museum exhibits, and heritage programs such as the popular First Families of Tennessee and Civil War Families of Tennessee. The East Tennessee History Center houses the staff and programs of the East Tennessee Historical Society, the Museum of East Tennessee History, the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound, and the Knox County Archives.

The Museum of East Tennessee History is located in the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. For more information on exhibitions, programs, or museum hours, call 865-215-8824 or visit the website at www.EastTNHistory.org.  

About Smithsonian Media

Smithsonian Media is a division of Smithsonian Enterprises, the revenue-generating business unit of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Media is composed of its flagship publication, Smithsonian magazine, as well as Air & Space, Smithsonian Books and the Smithsonian Media Digital Network. In addition, Smithsonian Media overseas the Smithsonian Institution’s interest in the Smithsonian Channel, a joint venture between the Smithsonian Institution and CBS/Showtime. The Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum and research complex consisting of 20 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities. Approximately 30 million people from around the world visit the museums annually.