NSC Alliance Member Organizations to Be Honored at White House

On 8 May 2014, three NSC Alliance members will be awarded the nation’s highest honor conferred on museums and libraries for service to the community.  Only five museums and five libraries will be awarded the National Medal for Museum and Library Service this year. Among the 2014 award winners are the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.

The award is presented by the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

“Congratulations to the 2014 winners of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. From programs that foster passion for science, literature and cultural heritage, to critical 21st century skills training for improved educational outcomes and workforce readiness, the services and programs of these institutions truly do make a difference,” said Susan H. Hildreth, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. “We thank each of this year’s medal recipients for their innovation and their dedication to serving their communities.”

“Brooklyn Botanic Garden is tremendously honored to receive the 2014 National Medal for Museum and Library Service from IMLS,” said Scot Medbury, president of Brooklyn Botanic Garden. “Winning the medal this year is especially meaningful as BBG celebrates the centennial of its pioneering Children’s Garden.”

Brooklyn Botanic Garden was founded in 1910 as an urban botanic garden.  One hundred years ago, BBG launched the first-ever children’s garden within a public botanic garden, where generations of city children have learned to plant, tend, and harvest their own garden plots.

“For many years, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences has been an invaluable resource to our state’s people,” said U.S. Representative David Price (NC). “It has helped generations of North Carolinians discover not only our state’s unique natural history and unique habitats, but also our shared responsibility to preserve these treasures for future generations.”

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh is the state’s most visited cultural attraction. It is an active research institution that engages visitors of every age and stage of learning in the wonders of science and the natural world, drawing them into the intriguing fields of study that are critical to the future of North Carolina.

“The Sam Noble Museum is proud to be selected for this national honor. We share this award with the people of Oklahoma who made this museum and its programs possible and who continue to support us in every way,” said Michael Mares, museum director and a past president of NSC Alliance.

The Sam Noble Museum was founded in 1899 and is located on the campus of the University of Oklahoma. In 1987, the museum was designated as the state’s natural history museum. The museum houses more than 10 million objects.