Press Releases

Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum Receives Highest National Recognition

Awarded Accreditation from the American Association of Museums

Washington, D.C./Oklahoma City, OK – January 5, 2007– The Oklahoma City National Memorial has achieved accreditation from the American Association of Museums (AAM), the highest national recognition for a museum. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public.

AAM Accreditation brings national recognition to a museum for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards, and continued institutional improvement. Developed and sustained by museum professionals for 35 years, AAM’s museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation, and public accountability. It strengthens the museum profession by promoting practices that enable leaders to make informed decisions, allocate resources wisely, and remain financially and ethically accountable in order to provide the best possible service to the public.

Of the nation’s nearly 17,500 museums about 775 are currently accredited. The Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum is one of only 11 museums accredited in Oklahoma.

As the AAM Visiting Committee noted in the written report, “What is important about the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum is not the parts – the collections, the mix of exhibits and programs, etc. – but the larger whole. A response to a tragic moment in our nation’s history, the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum stands as a model for building a consensus among stakeholders and for skillfully linking museum interpretation and emorialization. At a moment when there is much discussion and debate about the politics of memory and memorialization, we know what they have achieved was not a given.”

“Accredited museums are publicly committed to upholding and sustaining the highest standards and practices in the museum community,” said Kim Igoe, AAM’s Interim President and CEO. The Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum is a proven leader in the museum field in providing the best possible museum services and experiences, reminding both their peers and the public exactly how much museums really matter to their communities.”

Accreditation is a very rigorous but highly rewarding process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations. To earn accreditation a museum first must conduct a year of self-study, then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. AAM’s Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, consider 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.

“We are thrilled to join some of the preeminent museums in the country on the roster of AAM accredited museums. This award recognizes both the quality and accountability of the Memorial Museum and will help further our mission for years to come,” said Kari Watkins, Executive Director.

MEDIA ALERT: The Memorial will make this announcement, with the help of Mayor Mick Cornett and Lt. Governor Jari Askins, during a celebration for staff and trustees and press conference, Friday, January 5, 2007 at 8:00 a.m. at the Memorial Museum, 620 N. Harvey Avenue.

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.

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The Oklahoman article, January 6, 2007

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