AAM Announced Four Newly Accredited Museums and 19 Museums Re-Accredited
Washington, DC, 2/12/2008 - The American Association of Museums announced today that four museums have been awarded accreditation and 19 earned re-accreditation at the most recent meeting of the Accreditation Commission. Accredited status from AAM is the highest national recognition achievable by an American museum. Accreditation recognizes high standards in individual museums and ensures that museums continue to uphold their public trust. Developed and sustained by museum professionals for more than 35 years, AAM's museum accreditation program is the field's primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation and public accountability.

The characteristics of an accredited museum establish outcomes toward which all museums can and should strive and can achieve in ways appropriate to their resources. To best serve their communities, it is essential that museums be committed to institutional improvement, maintaining the highest standards in collections stewardship, governance, institutional planning, ethics, education and interpretation and risk management. AAM accreditation signifies excellence and accountability to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies and to the museum-going public.

The following museums joined the distinguished list of accredited institutions:

• Bonnet House Museum & Gardens, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.


• Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, Tenn.


• Nantucket Historical Association Whaling Museum, Nantucket, Mass.


• Norfolk Botanical Garden, Norfolk, Va.

All accredited museums undergo a subsequent review within ten years of their last accreditation award. The following museums were awarded subsequent accreditation:

• Andover Historical Society Museum, Andover, Mass.
• Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, N.Y.
• Boise Art Museum, Boise, Idaho
• Brooklyn Children's Museum, Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Bruce Museum of Arts and Science, Greenwich, Conn.
• Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
• Drake Well Museum, Titusville, Pa.
• Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History, Tex.
• Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Del.
• Historic Cherry Hill, Albany, N.Y.
• Historic Columbia Foundation, Columbia, S.C.
• Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii
• Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, Tenn.
• Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, N.Y.
• Idaho State Historical Museum, Boise, Idaho
• Independence National Historic Park, Philadelphia, Pa.
• Mackinac State Historic Parks, Mackinaw City, Mich.
• Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, Mass.
• San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, Calif.

"AAM accreditation demonstrates a commitment to outstanding stewardship, education, accountability, governance and transparency," said Ford W. Bell, president of AAM. "As accredited institutions, these 23 museums have achieved the highest standards of service to the public."

Of the nation's nearly 17,500 museums, 774 are currently accredited. To earn accreditation a museum first must conduct a year of self-study, then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. The Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, considers the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation. While the time to complete the process varies by museum, it generally takes as much as three years.

For more information about AAM and the Accreditation Program, including a complete list of accredited museums, please visit www.aam-us.org.

About AAM The American Association of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. With more than 15,000 individual, 3,000 institutional and 300 corporate members, AAM is dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital part of the American landscape, connecting people with the greatest achievements of the human experience, past, present and future. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.

Press Contact:
Dewey Blanton
202-218-7704
dblanton@aam-us.org

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