Who We Are
HistoryMiami Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate located in downtown Miami, safeguards and shares Miami stories to foster learning, inspire a sense of place, and cultivate an engaged community. Through exhibitions, artistic endeavors, city tours, education, research, collections and publications, HistoryMiami Museum works to help everyone understand the importance of the past in shaping Miami’s future. HistoryMiami Museum connects people by telling the stories of Miami’s communities, individuals, places and events.
Today HMM operates one of the largest private, regional history organizations in the Southeastern United States. Our collections include more than 30,000 three-dimensional artifacts that cover everything from prehistoric archaeological finds to 20th-century Afro-Cuban folk art. The Archives and Research Center collection, one of the most important in the state, includes more than 2 million historical images. Our permanent exhibition, Tropical Dreams: A People’s History of South Florida, presents 10,000 years of South Florida history. And we offer a robust schedule of temporary exhibitions each year on subjects important to the community.
World Class Resources
Initially accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) in 1979, HistoryMiami Museum has been subsequently re-accredited in 1987, 1997 and 2008, joining the elite 24% of history museums nationwide, and one of only two history museums in Miami-Dade County to meet the rigorous professional standards required. In July 2011, HistoryMiami became part of the prestigious Smithsonian Institution Affiliations Program, which allows the museum to bring world-acclaimed Smithsonian exhibitions to South Florida and provide opportunities to share resources in programming, collections, scholarship, and technical expertise.
Our History
Founded as the Historical Association of Southern Florida in 1940, the organization was renamed HistoryMiami Museum to mark its 70th anniversary in 2010. Initially accredited by the American Alliance of Museums in 1979, HMM was subsequently reaccredited in 1987, 1997 and 2008, joining an elite group of just 22% of history museums nationwide with that distinction, and we are one of only two history museums in the county to meet the rigorous professional standards required. In July 2011, HMM became part of the prestigious Smithsonian Institution Affiliations Program, which allows us to bring world-acclaimed Smithsonian exhibitions to South Florida and provide opportunities to share resources in programming, collections, scholarship and technical expertise.
