Contact:
Martin Moeller
Senior Vice President and Curator
401 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-272-2448
Fax: (-202-376-3599
E-mail: mmoeller@nbm.org
Web: www.nbm.org

Membership Information
Membership in the National Building Museum is open to everyone. As of November 1, 2006, basic membership rates will begin at $50 per year ($70 for dual memberships, $80 for families, $40 for seniors, and $30 for students). Members receive discounts in the Museum Shop and at educational programs, along with other benefits. Members at higher levels receive invitations to exclusive events and many other considerations. The Builders are members who give between $125 and $999 per year. The museum’s highest membership category is the Corinthians, comprising individuals, corporations, and associations donating at least $1,000 annually in unrestricted funds.

Brief Summary of the Organization and Its Mission
Mission Statement: The National Building Museum explores the world we build for ourselves — from our homes, skyscrapers, and public buildings to our parks, bridges, and cities. Through exhibitions, education programs, and publications, the museum seeks to educate the public about achievements in architecture, design, engineering, urban planning, and construction.

Other Information: The museum is a private, nonprofit institution established by an act of Congress in 1980. Since opening to the public in 1985, it has attracted over 4 million visitors (plus millions more “virtual visitors” to its website), and presented more than 170 exhibitions and many thousands of education programs for adults and children.

Initiatives in the Past Year Illustrating the Focus and Direction of the Organization
The museum’s most important initiative of the past year has been the groundbreaking exhibition, The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design. The second in a series of exhibitions on sustainable design and construction, The Green House begins with a full-scale mock-up of a portion of a modular, sustainable house. It also includes twenty examples of actual green residential projects from around the world, plus a resource room with samples of sustainable materials and products. The Museum is offering numerous education programs throughout the year to complement the exhibition.

Well regarded for its innovative children’s programming, the museum recently announced a major initiative to make a number of specific programs available to school children across the country. The prototype, called Bridge Basics, teaches children about fundamental engineering principles through hands-on exercises. The Bridge Basics activity kit is already available through the Museum Shop.

Cityscapes Revealed is the first exhibition conceived to provide an overview of the Museum’s substantial collection. Including drawings, photographs, material samples, building components, and other elements, the exhibition reflects a renewed commitment on the part of the Museum to publicizing and strengthening its collection.

Preservation Issues that are of Particular Concern to Your Organization
Through the “green” exhibition series and related programs, the museum constantly presents the message that preservation can be an important sustainable strategy. Several of the projects featured in The Green House, the accompanying catalog, and complementary education programs, for example, were highlighted precisely because they preserved all or parts of existing structures, thereby reducing waste and the total amount of embodied energy in a given building.

The museum frequently presents exhibitions and programs about specific historic buildings (such as the recent exhibition on Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower in Bartlesville, Okla.) and on preservation issues in general.

The museum also aids numerous preservation efforts by making its collections accessible to scholars and other appropriate visitors for research purposes. It should be noted that, as a matter of policy, the museum does not accept artifacts in cases in which such acceptance might compromise the integrity of a historic structure.

Preservation Trends/Opportunities that Your Organization Views as Advancements or Potential Advancements in the Field of Historic Preservation at Large and/or Advancements in Historic Preservation within Your Organization
As noted above, the museum strongly associates preservation with the sustainability movement. This is a relatively easy message for laypeople to understand—preservation reduces waste and takes advantage of materials that have already been manufactured and transported to a given site. Emphasizing this benefit of preservation would seem to be an opportunity to reach members of the public who otherwise might have little interest in older buildings.

Ways the AIA/HRC and Its Members Can Be Supportive of Your Organization
As mentioned, the National Building Museum is a private, nonprofit organization and does not charge an admission fee. Therefore, the Museum relies heavily on contributions from individuals, corporations, associations and governmental agencies in order to present its exhibitions and programs. The Museum welcomes memberships and other contributions from everyone with an interest in historic preservation, design, planning, or engineering.

Friends of the Museum can also be helpful simply by spreading the word about our activities to those who may not be familiar with the institution.

Above all, come visit the museum—see an exhibition, attend a program, and stop by our acclaimed Museum Shop.