Holocaust Education Center Applies for Museum Accreditation 

Many different types of centers that have outstanding exhibits are often called museums when in fact they are not.   To officially be a museum, an institution must be accredited by the American Association of Museums. 

In the summer of 2006, Hatikvah Holocaust Education Center started the accreditation process.  To receive official recognition by the  AAM, an institution must maintain the highest professional standards in its overall operation, collections and holdings, education and interpretation, ethics, and leadership.  Accreditation also provides a special status, making an institution eligible for special funding.

The accreditation process takes a minimum of two years.  It begins with an assessment by the American Association of Museums of all areas of the Center’s operation.  These include the exhibit itself, preservation of artifacts and other materials in the Center’s collection, its resource library, its educational programming, its finances, and its leadership including board of directors, staff, and volunteers.  To date only two Holocaust Education Centers, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles have museum accreditation.  The Holocaust Museum in Houston, TX is in the process of becoming accredited.  All are large institutions.  Hatikvah Holocaust Education Center is the first small size Holocaust Education Center to apply for accreditation.