FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
July 31, 2007
Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov
Institute of Museum and Library Services Announces $17.4
million for
Museums for America
Nation’s Largest
Federal Funding Program for Museums
Will Strengthen 158 Museums Across America
Washington, DC—Dr.
Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum
and Library Services, today announced the 2007 Museums
for America grant recipients, the nation’s
largest federal funding program for museums. Museums of
all types, from art to zoos, 158 in all, will share $17.4
million in grant funding. Recipients will match the federal
funds with an additional $30.1 million. Nationwide, 414
museums—urban and rural, large and small—competed
for grants, requesting over $41.9 million. Click
here for a contact list of the recipients organized by
state with descriptions of their grant projects.
“Museums for America grants
invest in our nation’s communities by supporting
museums as active resources for lifelong learning, cultural
heritage, and community engagement,” said Radice.
“The programs and activities these grants support
include hands-on educational programs, innovative uses
of technology, and ground-breaking partnerships. All help
to strengthen museum services and improve communities.”
Museums request funding to support lifelong
learning, sustain cultural heritage, or serve as centers
of community engagement. Museums for America
grants help museums serve the public more effectively
by supporting high priority activities that advance the
organization's mission and strategic goals. Some examples
of how the 2007 Museums for America recipients will use
the grants include:
- The Iolani Palace, Honolulu, HI, will catalog and
evaluate the museum’s furniture collections to
better serve research, education, and interpretation
needs. It will also evaluate furniture pieces for appropriateness
to the mission of the institution.
- The Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, OR, will complete
the cataloging of its museum collections that focus
on contemporary graphic art by national, international,
and Pacific Northwest artists. Detailed collections
information will be placed online.
- The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX, will
support “A Place for All Families/A World of Art,”
an initiative to expand family learning opportunities
at the museum. Family programs, designed with community
partners, will foster learning about art through observing,
discussing, and creating works of art and through linking
the visual arts to other disciplines.
- The Lincoln Children’s Zoo, Lincoln, NE, will
support Healthy Families Play Outside, a city-wide,
year-long treasure hunt and ad campaign encouraging
families to become physically active. Many partners
will sponsor activities and events to further the project’s
goal.
- The Rogers Historical Museum, Rogers, AR, will create
an exhibition and programs on growing up during the
atomic age. After its debut at the museum, the exhibition’s
panels and “fallout shelter” displays will
be transformed into a traveling exhibit.
- The Chicago Academy of Sciences, Chicago, IL, and
its Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum will inventory and
create a database of eight natural history collections
for access by researchers and the public.
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