National Museum of African American History and Culture

Washington, D.C.

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SM&W Contribution

Shen Milsom & Wilke provided consulting services in acoustics, audiovisual and information technology infrastructure for the nineteenth Smithsonian museum and the last to be constructed on the National Mall. SM&W was involved with the historic museum since the project’s inception in 2008, where we assisted with the program of requirements for the facility.

In addition to its exhibition halls, the museum houses the Oprah Winfrey Theater, a café, offices and an education center. An estimated 40,000 artifacts make up the museum’s collection, many of which were donated by everyday people. The Smithsonian uses the museum to highlight the “dark corners” of American History and to promote diversity through African American culture and history.

Four architecture firms worked to create the distinct bronze “corona” design that was inspired by African-American metal work. The NMAAHC was designed to achieve a LEED Gold certification.

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On a late summer day in 1963, 200,000 Americans made the Washington Monument the compass needle for a new direction in history, up and forward, when they gathered at its base, then marched a mile or so on to hear the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preach — sing, really — a sermon on racism and a dream of change.

On an early autumn day this Saturday, just yards from the monument, the compass itself will, symbolically speaking, become fully visible, when the National Museum of African American History and Culture opens to the public. To paraphrase the preacher: It’s here at last, here at last. And it’s more than just impressive. It’s a data-packed, engrossing, mood-swinging must-see.

—New York Times

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