Houston County Public Library and Children’s Museum of Houston Receive Award

HOUSTON (KIAH) — The Harris County Public Library and Children’s Museum in Houston recently won the nation’s highest museum and library honor, called the 2024 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. This is the first time in the 30-year history of the award that a museum and library from the same region have won the award in the same year.

Judge Lina Hidalgo said, “Harris County made history today by becoming the first community to have both a museum and library winning this prestigious award in the same year. For anyone who has interacted with our libraries or visited the Children’s Museum, this will come as no surprise. Our libraries not only provide incredible programs for families of all backgrounds, but they recently stepped up to lend a helping hand by serving as cooling centers when people lost power during the storms a few weeks ago. The Children’s Museum provides wonderful, high-quality early childhood education programs for all children in Harris County. Thank you to both institutions for all you do.

Each year, 10 recipients receive the National Medal from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Harris County Public Library was nominated for the National Medal of Museum and Library Service by Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Other library nominations include:

• Program to provide free laptops and hotspots to 70,000 residents without Internet
• Community Outreach for Low-Income Areas
• Partnering with Harris County Juvenile Probation to Introduce Youth in the Juvenile Justice System to Library Services
• Mobile librarian vehicle that delivers personalized educational programs and services

The Children’s Museum Houston was nominated for the national medal by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Dr. Tricia Zucker of the UTHealth Children’s Learning Institute, Paul Martin of Arizona State University and Kristi Rangel of the Gulf Coast Workforce Board. His appointments are:

• Serving families facing socioeconomic disadvantages or language barriers
• Creative Strategies for Early Brain Development
• Train children for STEM careers and celebrate diversity