Arizona Science Center achieves accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM)
The Arizona Science Center has achieved accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) – the highest national recognition conferred to the nation’s museums. 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, to funders, 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.
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, and then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. The Alliance’s 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.
The Commission specifically noted as impressive the Arizona Science Center’s CONNECT online learning programs as a national model for museum education, Professional Learning and Development for educators, and Rural Communities Expansion Project. The Commission also commended Arizona Science Center for infusing the principles of Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion (DEAI) into the Science Center as a whole and their updated institutional plan. Arizona Science Center was able to achieve this distinguished honor of accreditation through the hard work and dedication of the staff, effective Board leadership, and institution-wide collaboration for the evaluation, monitoring, and ongoing improvement of performance.
With this new distinction, Arizona Science Center now ranks among the most prestigious museums in the United States and its participation in accreditation reflects an enduring commitment to excellence and public trust. Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, only 1095 are currently accredited. Arizona Science Center is one of only 19 museums accredited in Arizona.
Please join the Arizona Science Center in celebrating this momentous occasion and achievement.