The FIRST EVER National Museum Survey launches
January 27, 2025
Please check your email on or after January 27 for your personalized survey link!
Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the NMS
NMS Question Reference Guide
The National Museum Survey (NMS) is the first-ever national survey dedicated to understanding the scope and scale of museums’ presence and reach within the United States.
This survey will help inform the museum field, policymakers, the public, and the media about the social, cultural, educational, and economic role that the nation’s museums play in American society.
|
Please click the link below to provide your contact information and ensure that your institution is able to participate in the National Museum Survey. |
We welcome participation in the NMS from a variety of types of institutions, including some that may not typically identify themselves as museums such as zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and arboretums; nature and science centers; history museums and historic sites; art museums; children’s museums; natural history museums; and specialized museums.
Your participation will provide your institution with the ability to access reports on the survey findings and give you access to a dynamic data portal once it is released in early summer 2025. The data portal will allow your institution to compare data with its peers’ summary results to offer valuable insights, illustrate trends, provide benchmarking, and help inform data-based decisions.
If you received an invitation to participate in the NMS and encounter any issues entering your institution’s data or are not the right person to complete the survey, please email NMS@imls.gov.
Find more information about the National Museum Survey, including background on the years-long survey development process, through these links:
