New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science Selected to Participate in National Museum Assessment Program

August 28th, 2017

(Albuquerque, NM) – The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science (NMMNHS) was selected to participate in the Museum Assessment Program (MAP) administered by the American Alliance of Museums. Through guided self-study and on-site consultation with a museum professional, participation in MAP will empower NMMNHS to better serve the citizens of New Mexico by facilitating its meeting and exceeding the highest professional standards of the museum field.

 

The museum’s participation is made possible through funding provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). MAP helps museums strengthen operations, plan for the future, and meet standards through self-study and a consultative site visit from an expert peer reviewer.

 

The NMMNHS has chosen to do a MAP Collections Stewardship assessment in order to streamline policies and procedures used in the NMMNHS Collections to ensure the long-term care of specimens, so that they will continue to be accessible to researchers now and in the future. Since the Museum opened its doors to the general public three decades ago, scientists from the Museum have been collecting fossils, animals and plants from across the state and have built a collection of more than 100 000 specimens. 

 

Margie Marino, the Executive Director for NMMNHS said, “The NMMNHS Collections are continually growing and we are committed to continually improving our practices so that our collections receive the best of care.”

 

“Choosing to be part of the MAP program is indicative of the commitment to civic involvement, public service and overall excellence on the part of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science,” said Laura Lott, president of AAM. “Studies have shown America’s museums to be among the country’s most trusted and valued institutions. MAP is designed to make them even better.”

 

Since its creation in 1981, the MAP program has served over 4,600 museums. MAP is supported through a cooperative agreement between AAM and IMLS. For more information, including a complete list of museums participating in MAP, please visit www.aam-us.org/map, call 202-289-9118 or e-mail map@aam-us.org.

 

AAM is the only organization representing the nation’s entire museum community and has been dedicated to promoting excellence within the museum field for over 100 years. For more information about AAM, visit www.aam-us.org. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. To learn more about the Institute, please visit: http://www.imls.gov.

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About the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science:  Established in 1986, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science’s mission is to preserve and interpret the distinctive natural and scientific heritage of our state through extraordinary collections, research, exhibits and programs designed to ignite a passion for lifelong learning. The NMMNHS offers exhibits, exhibitions, programs, and workshops in Paleontology, Geoscience, Bioscience, Earth Science, Natural Science, Gemology and is the Southwest’s largest repository for dinosaur fossils, and includes a Planetarium and a DynaTheater. A division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, the Museum is open 7 days a week, from 9am-5pm, closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Located at 1801 Mountain Road NW, northeast of Historic Old Town Plaza, Albuquerque, NM 87104, (505) 841-2800. http://www.nmnaturalhistory.org.