State of Montana Newsroom
Montana Historical Society Receives National Museum Impact Award for Montana Heritage Center
Helena, MT — The Montana Historical Society has been selected to receive the Museum Impact Award from the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the full scope of the museum field in the United States. The award recognizes the Society's work in developing the Montana Heritage Center, which opened to the public in December 2025. The honor will be presented at the 2026 AAM Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo in Philadelphia on May 20.
The Museum Impact Award is given to individuals, programs, and institutions whose work is driving meaningful change in museum workplace culture and in engagement with audiences and communities.
The Montana Heritage Center represents the most significant transformation of the Montana Historical Society's facilities and permanent exhibits in decades, marking the first major upgrade to its physical space since the 1950s and the most substantial overhaul of its galleries since the 1980s. More than twenty years in the making, the project charged MTHS with telling the full story of Montana: from pre-contact history through the present day, with particular attention to the long-standing gaps in how the state's Indigenous communities have been represented.
The Heritage Center's 15,000 square feet of permanent galleries ensure that all Montanans — immigrants, settlers, ranchers, miners, artists, activists, and more — see themselves represented in ways that are meaningful and engaging. Multimedia interactives, high-impact storytelling, and accessible interpretation invite generations of Montanans to connect with the stories of their home.
"When communities are welcomed as co-authors of history, museum spaces become more truthful, more relevant, and more inspiring,” said Molly Kruckenberg, director of the Montana Historical Society. “That is what we set out to build, and we are honored to have this work recognized on a national stage."
The Montana Heritage Center is located at 225 North Roberts Street in Helena. Admission is free, and the museum is open 7 days a week. For more information on the Montana Historical Society and Montana Heritage Center, visit mths.mt.gov.