National Museums: In Brief
National Museums: In Brief
Updated January 11, 2024
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R45674
National Museums: In Brief
Introduction
The Institute of Museum and Library Services estimates there are approximately 30,000 museums
in the United States.1 The many types of museums include arboretums, botanical gardens, nature
centers, historical societies, historic preservation organizations, history museums, science and
technology centers, planetariums, children’s museums, art museums, general museums, natural
history and natural science museums, zoos, aquariums, and wildlife conservation centers. Some
of these museums are termed “national” museums.
There is no definition of a national museum. Some national museums are authorized by Congress
and operated by the federal government (e.g., the National Museum of the American Indian and
the National Museum of African American History and Culture).2 However, most national
museums are private museums, funded and operated without government involvement.
At times, Congress has acted to designate certain private museums as national museums. Such
congressional designation of private museums is honorific and recognizes a museum as being of
national importance. In general, this designation is not accompanied by federal funding, although
these museums may apply for competitive grants from federal sources, just as museums without
congressional designation may apply.3 A few congressionally designated private museums have
received funding through appropriations, but that is the exception rather than the rule.
Museums may receive a congressional designation of “national” in several ways. Congress has
recognized museums through bills and joint resolutions (both of which become laws if passed by
both chambers and signed by the President) and through simple and concurrent resolutions
(which are adopted by one or both chambers but do not carry the force of law). The 117th
Congress passed P.L. 117-263, the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2023, which contained a section recognizing a privately funded museum to honor the
intelligence community and special operations forces as the “National Museum of Intelligence
and Special Operations.” The target for opening the museum is late 2027.
Not all museums designated “national” have received this designation through congressional
action. Some museums have designated themselves as national museums (e.g., the National
Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and the National Western Art Museum). This report does not
include federal museums nor museums self-designated as national museums. This report has been
undertaken in response to interest in how museums can secure congressional recognition as
“national museums.”
Examples of Congressionally Designated National Museums
This section presents illustrative examples of ways in which private museums have been
congressionally designated a national museum. It is not a comprehensive list of these museums.
All of the museums profiled below are open and operating as of this writing.
The examples are listed in reverse chronological order of their designation. Each example
includes the name used on the museum’s website, which may differ from the name in the
1 Institute of Museum and Library Services, Museum Data Files (November 2018 Release) at https://www.imls.gov/
sites/default/files/museum_data_file_documentation_and_users_guide.pdf.
2 For more information, see CRS Report R43856, Contemporary Federal Museum Authorizations in the District of
Columbia: Past Practices and Options for Congress.
3 Major sources of federal funding for museums include the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National
Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Congressional Research Service
1
National Museums: In Brief
legislation;4 the museum’s location; legislation related to naming the museum; and a brief
overview of the language and process or history of its designation as a national museum.
National Museum of World War II Aviation, Colorado Springs, CO
Section 2861 of P.L. 115-91, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, added
in the Senate by amendment, recognized the museum as America’s National World War II
Aviation Museum. The provision stated that “the National Museum recognized by this section is
not a unit of the National Park System, and the recognition of the National Museum shall not be
construed to require or permit Federal funds to be expended for any purpose related to the
National Museum.”
Previously resolutions to recognize the museum as the National World War II Aviation Museum
were introduced in the House in the 111th, 113th, and 114th Congresses but did not advance.
National Atomic Testing Museum, Las Vegas, NV
Section 3114 of P.L. 112-81, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, stated
that “the museum operated by the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation and located in Las
Vegas, Nevada – (1) is recognized as the official testing museum of the United States; and (2)
shall be known as the ‘National Atomic Testing Museum.’”
National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY
Section 336 of P.L. 110-229, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, designates the
museum as the “National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States” due to its devotion “to
inspiring global recognition of fine art related to nature and wildlife” and is an “excellent
example of a thematic museum that strives to unify the humanities and sciences into a coherent
body of knowledge through art.”
National Navy UDT-Seal Museum, Fort Pierce, FL
P.L. 110-115, An act to recognize the Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida, as the
official national museum of NAVY Seals and their predecessors, states, “The Navy UDT-SEAL
Museum is the only museum dedicated solely to preserving the history of the Navy SEALs and
their predecessors.... Since 1985, when the Navy UDT-SEAL Museum first opened, it has become
home to artifacts and photos.”
In the 112th Congress, House and Senate bills to recognize the memorial at the museum as the
official national memorial of Navy SEALS and their predecessors were introduced but did not
advance.
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Kansas City, MO
In the 109th Congress, concurrent resolutions were introduced in the Senate (S.Con.Res. 60) and
the House (H.Con.Res. 277) to designate the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum as “America’s
National Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.” S.Con.Res. 60 (109th Congress) passed both the
Senate and the House. It expressed “support for the Museum’s efforts to recognize and preserve
the history of the Negro Leagues and the impact of segregation on our nation.”
National World War I Museum and Memorial, Kansas City, MO
Section 1031 of P.L. 108-375, the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2005, was added by a Senate amendment. The section recognized the Liberty
4 For example, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was recognized as “America’s National Negro Leagues Baseball
Museum.”
Congressional Research Service
2
National Museums: In Brief
Memorial Museum as “America’s National World War I Museum” and noted that the Liberty
Memorial Museum “is the only public museum in the United States that exists for the exclusive
purpose of interpreting the experiences of the United States and its allies in the World War I years
(1914-1918), both on the battlefield and on the home front.”
Later attempts to designate the Liberty Memorial at the museum as the National World War I
Memorial culminated in P.L. 113-291, Section 3091, designating it as a “World War I Museum
and Memorial.”
Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry, Baltimore, MD
P.L. 108-122, Recognizing the Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry, an affiliate of
the Smithsonian Institution in Baltimore, Maryland, as the official national museum of dentistry
in the United States, started as a joint resolution that began, “Whereas the Dr. Samuel D. Harris
National Museum of Dentistry … is an international resource with the primary mission of
educating people, especially children, about the history of dentistry and the importance of good
oral care.... [T]he museum, known as the Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry ...
is recognized as the official national museum of dentistry in the United States.”
National WWII Museum, New Orleans, LA
Section 8134 of P.L. 108-87, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2004, initially
introduced as H.R. 2109 (108th Congress) and later added by amendment, noted that “the National
D-Day Museum is the only museum in the United States that exists for the exclusive purpose of
interpreting the American experience during the World War II years (1939-1945) on both the
battlefront and the home front and, in doing so, covers all of the branches of the Armed Forces
and the Merchant Marine.” For this and other reasons, Congress designated the National D-Day
Museum as America’s National World War II Museum.
National Children’s Museum, Washington, DC
Section 502 of P.L. 108-81, the Museum and Library Services Act of 2003, stated that “the
Capital Children’s Museum, located at 800 Third Street, NE, Washington, DC (or any successor
location), organized under the laws of the District of Columbia, is designated as the ‘National
Children’s Museum.’” The museum has relocated several times and has been located at 1300
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, since 2020.
National Law Enforcement Museum, Washington, DC
P.L. 106-492, the National Law Enforcement Museum Act, stated that “Congress finds that there
should be established a National Law Enforcement Museum to honor and commemorate the
service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers in the United States.... The Memorial Fund may
construct a National Law Enforcement Museum on Federal land.”
P.L. 115-321, the National Law Enforcement Museum Exhibits Act, amends the establishing
legislation to allow the museum to acquire, receive, possess, collect, ship, transport, import, and
display firearms.
America’s National Maritime Museum, Newport News, VA; New York, NY
Section 1068 of P.L. 105-261, the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 1999, added by Senate amendment, stated that “America’s National Maritime Museum is
comprised of those museums designated by law to be museums of America’s National Maritime
Museum on the basis that they: (1) house a collection of maritime artifacts clearly representing
the Nation’s maritime heritage; and (2) provide outreach programs to educate the public about the
Nation’s maritime heritage.”
Congressional Research Service
3
National Museums: In Brief
The initial designation of museums in this act included The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News,
VA, and the South Street Seaport Museum in New York, NY. The law stated that future
designation of other museums was not precluded.
In the 107th and 108th Congresses, legislation proposed including additional existing museums in
the designation but did not advance.
National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, Albuquerque, NM
Section 3137 of P.L. 102-190, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and
1993, added by a Senate amendment, recognized the museum operated by the Department of
Energy as “the official atomic museum of the United States” and stated that it “shall be known as
the ‘National Atomic Museum.’”
Section 3143 of P.L. 105-261, the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 1999, called on the Secretary of Energy to submit a plan to relocate the museum. The
museum reopened in 2009 in its new location, and it was renamed the National Museum of
Nuclear Science & History.
A Senate bill to authorize the establishment of a National Atomic Museum was introduced
starting in the 94th Congress but did not advance. Senate and House bills in the 101st Congress
also did not advance.
National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, Leadville, CO
Title I of P.L. 100-655, a Joint Resolution to designate the month of October 1988 as “National
AIDS Awareness and Prevention Month,” was added as an amendment to the joint resolution. It
stated that “the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, organized and incorporated under
the laws of Colorado, is hereby recognized as such and is granted a charter.”
National Building Museum, Washington, DC
In the 95th Congress, a joint resolution (P.L. 95-596) “to initiate preliminary studies for the
restoration and renovation of the Pension Building in Washington, District of Columbia, to house
a Museum of the Building Arts, and for other purposes,” stated that “the Pension Building is a
unique, historic, constitutes an architectural treasure belonging to the people of the United States,
and must be restored and properly utilized ... [and] would most appropriately be dedicated to the
public use as the Nation’s Museum of the Building Arts, benefiting this and future generations.”
Section 306 of P.L. 96-515, the National Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980, stated
that “in order to provide a national center to commemorate and encourage the building arts and to
preserve and maintain a nationally significant building which exemplifies the great achievements
of the building arts in the United States, the Secretary and the Administrator of the General
Services Administration are authorized and directed to enter into a cooperative agreement with
the Committee for a National Museum of the Building Arts, Incorporated ... for the operation of a
National Museum for the Building Arts.”
National Aquarium, Baltimore, MD
Section 7 of P.L. 96-118, To authorize appropriations for fiscal years, 1980, 1981, and 1982 to
carry out cooperative programs with the States for the conservation of anadromous fish, and for
other purposes, added by an amendment to the bill, stated, “The aquarium to be built by the City
of Baltimore, Maryland, on the site on Pratt Street, Pier 3, of the Baltimore Inner Harbor, shall, on
and after the date of the completion of its construction, be known and designated as the ‘National
Aquarium in Baltimore.’ Any reference in any law, map, regulation, document, record, or other
Congressional Research Service
4
National Museums: In Brief
paper of the United States to that aquarium shall be held to be a reference to the National
Aquarium in Baltimore.”
Later that year, “a bill to repeal a provision of law relating to the naming of a certain public
facility in Baltimore” was introduced but did not advance.
National Museum of American Jewish Military History, Washington, DC
P.L. 85-903, An Act to incorporate the Jewish War Veterans, U.S.A., National Memorial, Inc.,
created and “declared to be a nonprofit body corporate of the District of Columbia, where its legal
domicile shall be, by the name of the Jewish War Veterans, U.S.A., National Memorial,
Incorporated.” The group was directed “to maintain and conduct a national memorial and
museum dedicated to and commemorating the service and sacrifice in the Armed Forces of the
United States during the period of war by Americans of the Jewish faith.”
Author Information
Shannon S. Loane
Senior Research Librarian
Congressional Research Service
5
National Museums: In Brief
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
Congressional Research Service
R45674 · VERSION 3 · UPDATED
6