The Tech Wins a National Award!

A couple weeks ago The Tech landed the highest honor any American museum can achieve--the IMLS National Medal. It is only given to five museums each year and is based on the institution's impact on the lives of individuals, families, and communities. For 2015, The Tech was the only museum in California to get the honor.

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Today is truly one of the great days in the history of The Tech

I am thrilled to tell you that we have won the National Medal for Museum and Library Service — the highest honor an American museum can achieve. Each year, this award is given to five museums and five libraries nationwide. It is given based on the institution’s record for making a difference in the lives of individuals, families, and communities, and this year we were the only museum selected from California. (A list of the other institutions receiving the honor can be found here.)  

I will travel to Washington, D.C., to accept the medal on May 18. Accompanying me will be Maria Arias Evans, the powerhouse principal of Washington Elementary School in San Jose and a close partner of ours. Why Maria? Because our partnership with Washington Elementary represents a great deal about what we aspire to be and to do — to be a resource for teachers, families and the community in the effort to help young people achieve their potential. Maria’s students visit us regularly for field trips; in fact, a group of fifth-graders is here today learning about electricity in one of our hands-on labs. “The Tech has the STEM expertise that we don’t,” Maria said. “We may not have our own fab labs, science labs, and other STEM resources, but we have The Tech.”

We would not have achieved this honor without the deep and wide support of the Silicon Valley community — donors, our staff, board, volunteers, community and corporate leaders, educators and elected officials — including our beloved congressional representative, Zoe Lofgren, who nominated us for the medal. In particular, we would like to thank the South Bay residents who have never wavered in their commitment to The Tech. We share this honor with you.

Yours,

Tim

Tim RitchiePresident and CEO
The Tech Museum of Innovation