This group of accredited museums is representative of the breadth and scope of America’s museums. It includes such institutions as the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the Boston Children’s Museum, the Museum of Nebraska History in Lincoln, the Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanical Garden, the Museum of Texas Tech University, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Sciences, in Sioux Falls. In this presidential election year, it  also includes the Woodrow Wilson House in Washington, D.C. ─ where the retired president spent the last three years of his life ─ and The White House, where Wilson and 41 others served as America’s chief executive.

The characteristics of an accreditable 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.

“As accredited institutions, these 45 museums have achieved the highest standards of service to the public,” said Ford W. Bell, AAM president. “The communities that these museums serve can take great pride in having a invaluable public asset in their midst.”

The following museums joined the distinguished list of accredited institutions:

• Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art,  Evanston, Ill.
• Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Ariz.
• Washington Pavilion of Arts and Sciences, Sioux Falls, S.D.

All accredited museums undergo a subsequent review within 10 years of their last accreditation award. The following museums were awarded subsequent accreditation:

• The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, N.M.
• American Museum of Natural History, New York, N.Y.
• The Art Institute of Chicago, Ill.
• Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, Neenah, Wis.
• Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Tex.
• The Boston Children’s Museum, Mass.
• Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford, Penn.
• The Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, Seattle, Wash.
• Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Ohio
• Chicago Botanic Garden, Ill.
• Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Del.
• Ephrata Cloister, Ephrata, Penn.
• Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, Fla.
• Fredericksburg Area Museum & Cultural Center, Fredericksburg, Virg.
• Harvard Art Museum, Cambridge, Mass.
• The Heard Museum, Phoenix, Ariz.
• Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, Wis.
• Morris Arboretum, Philadelphia, Penn.
• Museo de Arts de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
• Museum of Discovery and Science, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass.
• The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Tex.
• Museum of the Great Plains, Lawton, Okla.
• Museum of Nebraska History, Lincoln, Neb.
• Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Ill.
• Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, Mont.
• Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Tex.
• National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
• National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio
• Neville Public Museum of Brown County, Green Bay, Wis.
• Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanical Garden, Okla.
• The Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Tex.
• Orlando Science Center, Orlando, Fla.
• Paul Revere Memorial Association, Boston, Mass.
• Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, Penn.
• Pratt Museum/Homer Society of Natural History, Inc., Homer, Alaska
• Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, Fla.
• Seattle Art Museum, Wash.
• Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Virg.
• Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Summit, N.J.
• The White House, Washington, D.C.
• Woodrow Wilson House, Washington, D.C.

Of the nation’s estimated 20,000 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 two-person team of peers.  The Accreditation Commission, an autonomous body of museum professionals appointed by the AAM Board, considers the self-study and site visit 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.