National Museum of Language facts for kids

The National Museum of Language is a special place that helps us learn about languages. It is located in College Park, Maryland. This museum was started in 1997. Its main goal is to explore the history and importance of language. It also looks at how languages are learned and kept alive. The museum helps promote many different languages and cultures. It is one of the few places in the world made just for this purpose. Dr. Laura Murray is the current president of the museum.

History of the Museum

The idea for a national language museum began a long time ago. In 1971, language experts at the National Security Agency held an exhibit. It was called "Language, Its Infinite Variety." The idea for a museum became stronger in 1985. That's when these language experts met again. They wanted to create a museum dedicated to language.

Even though they couldn't set up exhibits right away, they formed a group. A board of directors was chosen in 1997. Before the museum officially opened, it still did things. It had a newsletter, special dinners, and programs.

The National Museum of Language officially opened on May 3, 2008. Its first exhibit was called "Writing Language: Passing It On." This exhibit showed the beginnings of early alphabet languages. These included Arabic, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. It also featured Chinese and Japanese writing.

Another important exhibit was "Emerging American Language in 1812." This exhibit explained how American English became different from British English. It also showed the work of Noah Webster. He was known as the "First American Lexicographer." Other smaller exhibits focused on Native American languages. They also covered Amharic and North American French. In 2011, the museum displayed old Bibles and religious books. These were borrowed from another museum.

How the Museum Works

The National Museum of Language is mostly run by volunteers. These are people who give their time to help. Most of the money for the museum comes from donations. Sometimes, it also gets money from government grants. There is no fee to become a member.

The museum is a founding member of the International Network of Language Museums. It also works with many groups that teach languages. These include the National Foreign Language Center. It also partners with the American Translators Association. You can find more about these groups on their website.

Museum Programs and Collections

The museum used to have the Allen Walker Read Library. This was a collection of books from a famous American language expert. The books are now listed online. The museum also used to teach classes sometimes.

One of its main programs is a speaker series. This series is now called the Amelia C. Murdoch Speaker Series. It is named after the museum's founder. Experts talk about different topics related to language. The museum also offered programs for school children. It even ran a summer language camp.

When the museum became mostly online, it kept its speaker series. It still has its book collection. The museum also displays its special flag at events.

Online Features

Today, the museum offers many things online. You can find a virtual exhibit about the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE). There is also a Greek language comic strip called Philogelos.

The National Museum of Language owns the world's only International Flag of Language. This flag was chosen in a contest held by the museum in 2008. The flag has three shades of green. These colors represent languages from the past, present, and future.