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Recognized by museums nationwide as a leading and innovative outdoor living history museum, Conner Prairie is Indiana’s first and only Smithsonian Affiliate. At Conner Prairie, families and school students engage, explore and discover what it was like to live and play in Indiana’s past. Visitors immerse themselves in everyday fun, weekend programs, year-round special events, classes, camps and more in four themed outdoor areas and three indoor galleries. Conner Prairie classifies as an outdoor living history museum, although in the past decade it has moved through a transformation significant enough to differentiate it from other museums in this genre. Attracting more than 300,000 visitors each year, Conner Prairie operates with 85 full-time and 200 part-time and seasonal staff. Of its 850 acres, 200 are used for programs. The museum’s endowment of $85 million supports a significant portion of its $9.5 million annual operating budget.
In 2010 Conner Prairie won the National Medal for museums, one of only five awarded each year and the second ever outdoor history museum, by the Institute for Museum and Library Services. First Lady Michelle Obama bestowed the medal to Conner Prairie at the White House on December 17. The President of the American Association of Museums (AAM), Ford Bell, commented, “No museum is more deserving of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service than Conner Prairie!” Researchers at AAM identified Conner Prairie in 2010 as one of nine “magnetic museums,” explaining magnetic as demonstrating outstanding dynamism, growth and vitality along multiple dimensions.