MEL FISHER MARITIME MUSEUM JOINS SELECT GROUP OF AMERICA’S MUSEUMS
The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum has been awarded accreditation by the American Association of Museums (AAM). This is the highest honor that a museum can attain, placing the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in the top five percent of museums in the country.
To celebrate this honor, the Key West City Commission and the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners are proclaiming the week of January 19-25 as Mel Fisher Maritime Museum Achievement Week.
On Thursday, January 22 at 7 p.m. at the Museum, Eugene Lyon, Ph.D., a past president of the Museum’s governing board, and Corey Malcom, director of archaeology, will deliver a lecture on the significance of the Museum’s collection. The Museum’s collection of four ships contains the only merchant slaver excavation in the New World, as well as a part of the fleet that founded Florida. A number of artifacts preserved at the Museum are on loan to the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Smithsonian in Washington. Exhibits created by the local museum staff travel all across the country bringing the story of the Age of Discovery from the late fifteenth to the mid-eighteenth centuries alive for thousands of Americans. The lecture is free and open to the public.
On Sunday, January 25, the Museum will open its doors once again to the public for an Open House from noon to 3 p.m. for a behind-the-scenes tour of the archaeological department, conservation lab and education department, as well as provide access to all exhibitions, including the newest exhibit – “Reefs, Wrecks and Rascals.” Admission is free to those with a Monroe County resident ID.
The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum has undergone more than a year of rigorous scrutiny by a panel from the American Association of Museums in achieving accreditation. AAM accreditation signifies excellence within the museum community. It is a seal of approval and recognizes a museum’s commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards, and continued institutional improvement.
The week of activities includes installation of new board members and a special reception commemorating this high honor of accreditation.
