L-R, Wendi Blewett (DLNHC Museum Collections Manager), Martha Capwell Fox (DLNHC Historian), and Cyan Fink (DLNHC Museum Inventory Coordinator) holding AAM accreditation certificate. (Image provided by DLNHC)

Awarded Re-Accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums

(Easton, December 14,2023) Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (DLNHC) has achieved renewed accreditation for the National Canal Museum in Easton by the American Alliance of Museums. This is the highest national recognition afforded to the nation’s museums.

Alliance Accreditation brings national recognition to a museum for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards and continued institutional improvement. Developed and sustained by museum professionals for 50 years, the Alliance’s museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation, and public accountability. It strengthens the museum profession by promoting practices that enable leaders to make informed decisions, allocate resources wisely, and remain financially and ethically accountable in order to provide the best possible service to the public.

“The National Canal Museum has grown and adapted as it moved from Forks of the Delaware to Easton’s Center Square then to the current location in Hugh Moore Park. This reaccreditation is a testament to the professionalism and quality of service we provide to the visitors, especially as the first reaccreditation since our 2017 merger,” said Claire Sadler, DLNHC Executive Director. “We are working hard to inventory more of our collections, update exhibits, and incorporate untold stories into future programming to keep meeting the needs and interests of our communities.”

All museums must undergo a reaccreditation review at least every 10 years to maintain accredited status. The National Canal Museum was initially accredited in 1992. Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, approximately 1,099 are currently accredited. The National Canal Museum is one of only 35 accredited museums in Pennsylvania.

The National Canal Museum is currently preparing to close for the season, but staff are already looking to the future. Planning for extended hours, new education and heritage programming, and the 2024 special exhibition, Putting Down Routes: from Native Trails to Interstates, is already underway.

“We are excited to announce that our 2024 special exhibit in the National Canal Museum is exploring the history of transportation in the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor,” said Martha Capwell Fox, DLNHC Historian. “Many of the roads we drive on today began as trails used for thousands of years by the original inhabitants of our region. Putting Down Routes will use historic and modern maps, photographs and objects to tell the story of how we travel over many of the same paths that our Corridor forebears did.”

The National Canal Museum will open for the 2024 season on weekends in April.

About Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor

The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that preserves the historic pathway that carried coal and iron from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol. Through key programs like the D&L Trail, National Canal Museum, and Get Your Tail on the Trail, DLNHC connects people to nature, culture, communities, recreation, and our industrial heritage. For more information, visit delawareandlehigh.org/.

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. Representing more than 35,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, institutions, and corporate partners serving the museum field, the Alliance stands for the broad scope of the museum community. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.

Information provided to TVL by:
Gianna Caruso | Communications Coordinator
Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, Inc.
delawareandlehigh.org | canals.org

---