For Immediate Release
Arlington, VA – The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, today announced two first-time accreditation awards and ten reaccreditation awards made at the February 2022 meeting of the Accreditation Commission. Of the nation’s estimated 35,000 museums, 1,095 are currently accredited.
Through a rigorous process of self-assessment and review by their peers, these museums have demonstrated they meet standards and best practices, and are educational entities that are appropriate stewards of the collections and resources they hold in the public trust.
Recognized as the field’s gold standard for museum excellence for 50 years, AAM accreditation signifies a museum’s quality and credibility to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies, and to the museum-going public. The Accreditation Program helps to ensure the integrity and accessibility of museum collections, reinforce the educational and public service roles of museums, and promote good governance practices and ethical behavior.
The following museums earned accreditation for the first time:
- Johnson County Museum, Overland Park, KS
- UCR Arts, Riverside, CA
The following museums were reaccredited:
- Cincinnati Museum Center: Museums at Union Terminal, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and Richard & Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve, Cincinnati, OH
- Holocaust Museum Houston, Houston, TX
- Logan Museum of Anthropology at Beloit College, Beloit, WI
- Lyman Museum, Hilo, HI
- Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC
- Museum at FIT, New York, NY
- Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA
- Science Museum Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK
- Snite Museum of Art University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
- Yakima Valley Museum, Yakima, WA
“From first-timers to museums that have been continuously accredited for 50 years, this group of awardees shows their resilience and commitment to excellence as they continued ahead and completed their review during a pandemic,” said Evans Richardson, Accreditation Commission Chair. “From museums of art, fashion, science, history, and nature, these museums represent the diversity in types of organizations that are accredited.”
To earn accreditation, a museum submits a self-study questionnaire and key operational documents for evaluation, then undergoes a site visit by a two-person team of peer reviewers which produces a report for the Accreditation Commission. The Commission uses these materials and its collective expertise to determine whether to grant accreditation.
Read more about the Alliance’s Accreditation program.
About the American Alliance of Museums
The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, AAM has been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward.
AAM’s Alliance of 35,000 museums and museum professionals seeks to better our communities, and our world, through collaborative human-centered experiences, education, and connection to histories, cultures, the natural world, and one another. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.
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Press Contact:
Natanya Khashan
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