Baylor’s Mayborn achieves nation’s highest honor for U.S. museums

After a rigorous review process, Baylor’s Mayborn Museum Complex has achieved a significant milestone: accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) — the highest national recognition an American museum can achieve, and an honor only 3% of museums nationwide have earned.

The accreditation means that the Mayborn meets national standards and best practices for U.S. museums. The accreditation review particularly noted that the Mayborn has created a robust sense of community through its outreach activities and community collaboration, with exhibits, events and educational programs for all of Waco and its visitors.

You could spend an entire day at the Mayborn roaming their permanent exhibits alone. The Natural and Cultural History Exhibits emphasize what the land and life in Texas once looked like. The Governor Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village is a recreation of Texan life in the 1890s. The Jeanes Discovery Center is chock full of hands-on activities like giant bubbles, a walk-on piano, and so much more. And the Design Den encourages visitors to slow down and engage in the art of creating.

On top of all that, the museum regularly welcomes spectacular traveling exhibits. Recently, it hosted its biggest and most popular exhibit to-date: “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition“. In January, that was followed by its current special exhibits, “Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit,” based on the classic Eric Carle books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and “SpaceX: Now This is Rocket Science,” which offers education on the literal rocket science being done by SpaceX in neighboring McGregor, Texas.

And finally, the museum is constantly hosting educational events for the public. Events like Portal to the Public, for example, feature the Mayborn and Baylor science departments teaming up to teach kids about science. We’re so thankful to have the Mayborn as part the Baylor and Waco community — and now the accreditation to prove it!

Sic ’em, Mayborn Museum!