These museums were the first to be accredited in June 1971:

• California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California
• Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles, California
• Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, Delaware
• Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida
• American Textile History Museum, Lowell, Massachusetts
• Public Museum of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota
• New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York
• Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York
• Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon
• Columbia Museum of Art and Science, Columbia, South Carolina
• Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
• Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Fort Worth, Texas
• Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, Seattle, Washington