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Draft:National Museum of Civil Defense

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  • Comment: We're looking for reliable, independent, secondary sources that discuss this museum. For example, newspaper or academic journal articles about it. asilvering (talk) 17:48, 1 December 2024 (UTC)

Thanks! There were a few listed, including a newspaper story (MageeNews writing about the collection and further research), multiple government websites (including FEMA) that cite the museum and its resources, and an academic article co-published by the museum with Brookhaven National Labroatory that is provided in full-text and describes items in their Collections. I added another newspaper article, but social media is where a lot is and that's not citable? This was my first time writing an article, as I thought it a worthwhile read. One of their partners - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cold_War_Museum seems to only have internal citations to its own website? I don't mean to waste anyone's time if I'm just not understanding.


National Museum of Civil Defense
File:National Museum of Civil Defense Logo.jpg
EstablishedFebruary 2020 (2020-02)
LocationSan Antonio, Texas, United States
TypeHistory museum
DirectorNicholas Studer, M.D.
CuratorGeorge Wunderlich
Nearest parkingOn-Site, no charge.
Websitenationalmuseumofcivildefense.org

The National Museum of Civil Defense or NMCD in San Antonio, Texas, documents and interprets the history of the U.S. civil defense and emergency management programs.[1] The museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the only entity dedicated to this field of study.[2]

Founding

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With the dedication of the National Civil Defense/Emergency Management Monument at the National Emergency Training Center in Emittsburg, Maryland on 6 April 2002 - the organization related to its construction dissolved.[3] The National Museum of Civil Defense was founded in February 2020 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, its founders recognizing that there was no current organization that focused on the history of U.S. civil defense and emergency management. Its Museum Artifact and Archive Center is located in San Antonio, Texas, just north of Fort Sam Houston, Texas and east of the San Antonio International Airport.[4]

Exhibits

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"Calamity Jane" Heavy Rescue Truck

The museum covers the beginnings of American emergency prepredness planning from the Council on National Defense in 1916 to the formation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2002.[5]

The museum's collection is broad and online content is routinely published to demonstrate radiation monitoring instruments such as Geiger counters, shelter supplies, uniforms and insignia, communications equipment, chemical warfare protective equipment, and even two "Calamity Jane" Heavy Rescue trucks[6][7] The museum has worked with vendors that were responsible for key products used in the civil defense program, such as the CD V-750 Model 6 piezoelectric dosimeter charger.[8] The museum is listed by the National Emergency Training Center library as a resource for research and archival assistance on civil defense and emergency management.[9]

In 2023, the museum provided radiation monitoring artifacts to Musealia's The Berlin Wall: Living in a Divided World exhibit in Madrid, Spain from 9 November 2023 to 12 January 2025.[10]

Education and Community Outreach Projects

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CD V-700 Geiger Counter

The museum assists high school teachers with loan of former civil defense program radiation monitoring instruments to allow for science, history, and preparedness education.

NMCD volunteer staff routinely assist government agencies, students, and other museums with research and articles - including the U.S. Postal Service Historian.[11] The New Falcon Herald described the museum's expertise in its research into the El Paso County, Colorado outdoor warning siren system.[12] The museum has partnered with the Professional Car Society to assist with the preservation of professional car history as it relates to civil defense and emergency management.[13] The staff are responsible for a standing column since 2020 in the Journal of Civil Defense, published by American Civil Defense Association with multiple articles from the National Warning System to Civil Defense rescue vehicles.[14] In 2021, the museum published with Brookhaven National Laboratory on the critical role of the "Brookhaven Brassie" radioiodine detection instrument in the response to the Three Mile Island accident.[15]

Governance

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The museum is governed by a Board of Directors and an Advisory Board that includes representation from the National Atomic Testing Museum, National Museum of American History,[16] and United States Army Medical Department Museum.[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ https://www.nationalmuseumofcivildefense.org/digital-resources Exhibits - National Museum of Civil Defense
  2. ^ https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/845144418 Charity Navigator Profile for NMCD
  3. ^ https://www.usfa.fema.gov/nfa/on-campus-students/about-our-campus/monuments.html Monuments at the National Emergency Training Center
  4. ^ https://thc.texas.gov/learn/military-history/military-museums-and-programs-texas Texas Historical Commission Listing of Texas Military Museums and Programs
  5. ^ https://www.hsdl.org/c/view?docid=470277 DHS - A Short History of National Preparedness Efforts
  6. ^ https://www.facebook.com/USCivilDefense NMCD Facebook Page
  7. ^ https://mageenews.com/a-question-for-the-family-of-the-late-mike-mathis/ MageeNews Story on NMCD Collection and Research
  8. ^ https://seintl.com/articles/national-museum-of-civil-defense-appreciation-letter NMCD Letter of Appreciation for S.E. International
  9. ^ https://netc-library.libguides.com/civildefense NETC Library Civil Defense Topic Guide
  10. ^ https://theberlinwall.com/madrid/en/ Musealia's The Berlin Wall: Living in a divided World
  11. ^ https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/postal-service-role-in-civil-defense.pdf The Postal Service's Role in Civil Defense during the Cold War
  12. ^ https://newfalconherald.com/a-cold-war-relic-in-black-forest/ The Cold War Relic in Black Forest
  13. ^ https://www.theprofessionalcarsociety.org/pcs-chapters.html PCS Chapters and Friends
  14. ^ https://tacda.org/#375 Journal of Civil Defense
  15. ^ https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1807962/ The "Brookhaven Brassie" and the Response to the Three Mile Island Accident
  16. ^ https://www.dday.org/events/distinguished-speakers-series-with-frank-a-blazich-jr-phd/ Biography of Frank Blazich
  17. ^ https://www.nationalmuseumofcivildefense.org/about About Us - National Museum of Civil Defense
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