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San Bernardino County Museum Honored with Four National Awards

REDLANDS, CA — San Bernardino County Museum is the recipient of four National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Awards. The Museum is recognized in the Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation category for the initiative “Co-Creating a Land Acknowledgment at the San Bernardino County Museum” and the exhibits “Here Comes the Sun: Solar Science and Spirituality,” “Inspired by Nature - Why Preservation Matters in Our Modern World,” and at the Victor Valley Museum, “Military in the Mojave: An Enduring Legacy of Service in the High Desert.”

Co-Creating a Land Acknowledgment at the San Bernardino County Museum is an initiative, in collaboration with San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and Morongo Band of Mission Indians, to acknowledge the ancestral territory of indigenous peoples, in order to more effectively and authentically connect the public to the Museum’s mission and cultural spaces. The Acknowledgment is prominently positioned at the museum entrance, in Serrano, English, and Spanish languages, and an audio recording in Serrano is available for listening.

The second award is for Here Comes the Sun: Solar Science and Spirituality, a multidisciplinary, temporary exhibit that presents the science of the Sun and the immense influence  the Sun has had on our local culture. Featured in the exhibit is a dramatic floor-to-ceiling projection with footage of “Solarium” provided by NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory. The successful run of the exhibit at the Redlands museum continues with the re-opening at the Victor Valley Museum in the Fall of 2022.

The third award is for Inspired by Nature - Why Preservation Matters in Our Modern World. In the museum’s Hall of Biodiversity, the semi-permanent exhibit invites visitors to explore the variety behind what we observe in plants and animals and how humans have been inspired by the natural world to innovate and advance in science.

The fourth award is for Military in the Mojave: An Enduring Legacy of Service in the High Desert, the story of the vast impact the military has had on the High Desert communities and the integral role it has played in the local culture for over eight decades.

Director of Museum, Melissa Russo, shares, “For the fourth year in a row, the San Bernardino County Museum has been honored by NACo with multiple awards for our programs and exhibits. Always focused on our public service mission, the Museum team is thrilled that our work has garnered this recognition, and humbled by the positive community impact that results from these efforts.”

The annual National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award Program honors innovative county government programs throughout the nation. San Bernardino County garnered 82 Achievement Awards this year including four Best in Category and recognized in 16 out of 18 categories surpassing an all-time high of 60 awards bestowed in 2021. This achievement recognizes the County as receiving the most awards out of any other county nationwide.

“Our County staff are the best in the country and I’m extremely proud of them because they work hard each and every day and think creatively on how we can better serve our residents,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “The last few years have been extremely difficult to navigate because of the pandemic but our employees stood strong and became even more nimble to find creative solutions.”

“Our dedicated San Bernardino County employees and partners have demonstrated their commitment to innovation to serve our community,” Chief Executive Officer Leonard Hernandez said. “Every program and initiative that received recognition reflects the solutions that San Bernardino County government staff have brought to the toughest challenges.” The fact that much of this work was done amid a pandemic, under adverse conditions, with a focus on improving the quality of life of all residents and visitors, makes it even more meaningful.”

The San Bernardino County Museum’s exhibits of regional, cultural and natural history and the Museum’s other exciting events and programs reflect the effort by the Board of Supervisors to achieve the Countywide Vision by celebrating arts, culture, and education in the county, creating quality of life for residents and visitors.