The Sweet Briar Museum and Anne Gary Pannell Art Gallery are celebrating the Year of the Museum, sponsored by the American Association of Museums. As part of this, Sweet Briar’s venues — along with other local galleries, museums and historic sites — are participating in Super Museums of Central Virginia, a program sponsored by the newly-formed Lynchburg Area Museum Professionals.

Open to people of all ages, the program involves having a passport-type document stamped at participating museums. Those who log six or more visits are eligible for a special drawing, which will include items from each museum and is valued at more than $500. The program runs through September 4.

Super Museum passports can be picked up and stamped at the following Lynchburg locations: Academy of Fine Arts, Rightmire Children’s Museum at Amazement Square, Anne Spencer House and Garden, Daura Gallery at Lynchburg College, Legacy Museum of African American History, Lynchburg Museum System (Bragassa’s Toy Store and Point of Honor), Maier Museum of Art at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, Old City Cemetery and Arboretum, Riverviews Artspace, and Sandusky Historic Site and Civil War Museum.

In addition to Sweet Briar’s offerings, participating Central Virginia museums include Amherst County Museum, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Altavista’s Avoca, Bedford City/County Museum, Red Hill — Patrick Henry National Memorial in Brookneal, and Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest.

The Sweet Briar Museum will be open during Reunion Weekend, May 26-28, and special tours can be arranged during the summer months. The Pannell Gallery will be closed through May 27. Beginning May 28, summer hours will be 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays, unless otherwise noted. Admission to both museums is free. Call (434) 381-6248 for more information.

For more information about Super Museums of Central Virginia, call the Lynchburg Visitors Center at (434) 847-1811 or any participating museum.