12 2 STA T .794PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 229 —M A Y8, 2008 (4)theMus eu m,c e n t ral l y l o cate di n P aducah, K entuc k y, and o p entothepu b lic year - round, a v era g es4 0 ,000 visitors per year
( 5 ) individuals f rom all 50 S tates and from more than 2 5 foreign countries have visited the Museum; ( 6 ) the Museum ’ s F riends, an organi z ation dedicated to supporting and sustaining the Museum, also has members in all 50 States, w ith 8 4 percent of members living more than 60 miles from the Museum; ( 7 ) many members of the Museum’s Friends have supported the Museum annually since the Museum began in 19 91; (8) q uilts e x hibited in the Museum are representative of the N ation and its cultures thanks to the wide diversity of themes and topics, quilts, and quiltmakers; and (9) the Museum of the A merican Q uilter’s Society has national significance and support . (b) S ENS E OFC ON GR ESS. —I t is the sense of Congress that the Museum of the American Quilter’s Society, located at 215 J effer- son Street, Paducah, Kentucky, should be designated as the ‘ ‘National Quilt Museum of the U nited States’’. SEC.3 3 6 . SE N SE OF CON GR ESS REG A R DI NG TH E DESIGNATION OF THE NATIONA LMU SEUM OF W ILDLIFE ART OF THE UNITED STATES. (a) F I N D INGS.—Congress finds that— (1) the National Museum of W ildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming, is devoted to inspiring global recognition of fine art related to nature and wildlife; (2) the National Museum of Wildlife Art is an excellent example of a thematic museum that strives to unify the human- ities and sciences into a coherent body of knowledge through art; ( 3 ) the National Museum of Wildlife Art, which was founded in 1987 with a private gift of a collection of art, has grown in stature and importance and is recognized today as the world’s premier museum of wildlife art; (4) the National Museum of Wildlife Art is the only public museum in the United States with the mission of enriching and inspiring public appreciation and knowledge of fine art, while exploring the relationship between humanity and nature by collecting fine art focused on wildlife; (5) the National Museum of Wildlife Art is housed in an architecturally significant and award-winning 51,000-square foot facility that overlooks the 28,000-acre National E lk R efuge and is ad j acent to the G rand T eton National Park; (6) the National Museum of Wildlife Art is accredited with the American Association of Museums, continues to grow in national recognition and importance with members from every State, and has a B oard of Trustees and a National Advisory Board composed of major benefactors and leaders in the arts and sciences from throughout the United States; (7) the permanent collection of the National Museum of Wildlife Art has grown to more than 3,000 works by important historic American artists including Edward H icks, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Charles M. Russell, William Merritt Chase, and Alexander Calder, and contemporary American artists,
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