PATHS FOR THE
National War Museum
In the museum field, there is no blueprint for success. The American Alliance for Museums suggests that
“Starting a new museum is a complex undertaking with serious fiduciary and legal obligations.” (AAM website, March 2021).
Today, even the definition of “museum” is under discussion. A feasibility-styled research report, about the prospective National War Museum, was completed and is available here.
In simplest terms, the National War Museum Project is a start-up initiative to launch a campaign leading to the opening of the museum. We may ultimately benefit from forming a foundation, coalition, different partnerships, reaching out to other like-minded museums, and/or the formative paths below. The NWMP’s future may include the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Department of Defense, community and business members, and legislative staff.
In 2021, our workplan is to strengthen stakeholder cultivation, which has been impacted by the pandemic.
The NWMP will also refine our website, attract volunteers, and try to obtain some publicity.
The impetus for many museums and monuments came from diverse “champions”, including single benefactors; advocacy groups; and Congressional sponsors. In Washington, DC, the Planet Word, International Spy, and Bible Museums were each originally conceived and funded by individual philanthropists. At the new National Museum of the United States Army, Mrs. Emma Jo Davis was instrumental in making the museum a reality.
The NWMP has researched the developmental processes of museums of all types and sizes, including international, from World War II to the present. Did you know that 70 years ago, the Freedom Train ran the Nation’s rails for almost two years? The train was a unique educational experience set up by the American Heritage Foundation.
The National War Museum could be any of these general paths or models:
-
As a “Federal” museum -This broad category includes all Smithsonian Institution museums and the National Art Gallery. A subset includes the exhibits, museums and visitors centers operated by Federal Agencies in their main buildings, such as: the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Museum, State’s Diplomacy Center, and museums at the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of the Interior, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, and the National Security Administration’s National Cryptologic Museum.
-
For profit/or privately funded - Examples are the Bible Museum, former Newseum, Planet Word, and the original International Spy Museum. Funding from individual philanthropists enabled the big step of real estate acquisition.
-
As a Nonprofit - Most museums, particularly small and midsized, are in this group. The National Museum of the Marine Corps is a public-private partnership between the Corps and the foundation established in 1979 as a nonprofit (c) to support programming not possible with federal funds. This group includes many military and veterans museums.
-
Positioned under the Department of Defense umbrella - DOD museums are operated by the Navy, Army and Air Force, and located on or near military bases. The Army alone has about 60 museums, with the Army Historical Foundation having helped with the newly opened flagship National Museum of U.S. Army. The Army museums rely on local installation commanders for funding, but artifacts are the property of the Army and tracked at the Museum Support Center in Fort Belvoir, VA.
A foundation served as a key platform for the National Museum of the Marine Corps; the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation was created after the Museum started to further expansion; a foundation expedited the National Museum of the U.S. Army, through a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of the Army. (The development of the Museum was overseen and funded by the Army).
The roots of the future Latino museum on the Mall were a 1994 Smithsonian report critical of the Institution's coverage of Latinos. This led to a Congressional commission/task force that studied a potential museum and ultimately, the passage of authorizing bills in 2020. The Friends of the American Latino Museum were a major advocacy group. As with the Women’s museum, financing will be evenly split between appropriated federal funds and private donations.