America's Islamic Heritage Museum facts for kids
| Established | April 30, 2011 |
|---|---|
| Location | 2315 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE Washington D.C., US |
| Type | History museum |
The America's Islamic Heritage Museum is a special history museum in Washington, D.C., United States. It's a non-profit place that shows many interesting items, pictures, and stories about Islamic history in America. These stories cover a long time, from the 1500s all the way to today. Before it became a museum, it was a traveling show called Collections and Stories of American Muslims (CSAM). This traveling show later became a museum, which first opened its doors on April 30, 2011. In 2024, the museum had a big reopening in a new building. This new space is part of a larger building that also has homes and other businesses.
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Museum History
How the Museum Started
The idea for the museum began in 1996 when Collections & Stories of American Muslims, Inc. (CSAM) was created. For many years, CSAM traveled all over the country. It shared the history of Muslims in America with people everywhere. The traveling exhibit visited many famous places, including universities like Harvard University and Stanford University. It also went to museums such as the DuSable Museum of African American History and the Anacostia Community Museum. The exhibit even traveled to other countries like Qatar and Nigeria. On April 30, 2011, the traveling exhibit officially opened as a museum. Its first home was in Washington, D.C., at the former Clara Muhammad School.
A New Home for the Museum
On March 8, 2024, the America's Islamic Heritage Museum celebrated a grand reopening. The museum moved into a new, permanent home called The Clara. This new building is a place with affordable housing, and the museum now has a large space of 11,000 square feet on the ground floor. This move gave the museum much more room to display its collections and welcome visitors.
What You Can See at the Museum
The museum has many displays that tell the stories of different people. These include important figures like Estevanico, Omar ibn Said, Hajj Ali, Yarrow Mamout, and Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb. The museum also highlights America's unique groups of people and how they moved to the country. This includes the Melungeons and Bosnian Muslims who started coming to America in the 1800s. There is a large section about the Nation of Islam, showing old newspapers, photos, and other items. The museum also points out several towns in America that have names with Islamic connections. Some examples are Mahomet, Illinois, Mahomet, Texas, Mecca, Indiana, and Elkader, Iowa.
Museum Hours
The museum is open to visitors from Tuesday to Saturday, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. On Sundays, it is open from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The museum is closed on Mondays.
Related Topics
- Islam in the United States
- Islam in the Americas
