Association of Science Museum Directors

What Association of Science Museum Directors does

The Association of Science Museum Directors (ASMD) is a U.S. non-profit professional association founded in 1959 that serves as a peer community for Presidents, CEOs, and Directors of science museums, science centers, technology centers, zoological parks, aquariums, botanical gardens, and comparable institutions with science-related collections, exhibitions, or educational programs. The organization is governed by an elected board of volunteer officers and is operationally run by Executive Director Bonnie Styles, Ph.D., out of a headquarters in Springfield, Illinois.

ASMD's product surface is membership- and event-based rather than technology-based. Core offerings include tiered annual membership (dues of $100, $200, or $400 based on member museum operating budgets), a 2.5-day annual Directors Forum held in February in a rotating U.S. city, a breakfast meeting hosted at the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Annual Meeting each spring, and an annual reception hosted at the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) Annual Meeting each fall. ASMD also co-convenes Museums Advocacy Day in Washington D.C. — now in its 14th consecutive year — to advocate for federal funding for IMLS, NEH, NSF, NASA, and NOAA.

The business model is a subscription/membership model with recurring annual dues; there is no disclosed pricing for event registration, no technology products, no app, no API, and no public headcount data. ASMD holds formal affiliate relationships with AAM and ASTC, and participates in the AMERICA IS ALL IN climate coalition. Operating geography is the United States only.

Name

Association of Science Museum Directors

Legal name

Association of Science Museum Directors

Website

https://asmd-us.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Association of Science Museum Directors (ASMD) is a U.S. non-profit professional association founded in 1959 that serves science museum directors through tiered annual membership, an annual Directors Forum, and federal advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Museum Professional Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK), Training, Enablement & Talent Development Summits (THAHAMAH)

Keywords

• Museum professional association
• Science museum leadership
• Museum advocacy programs
• Museum peer networking
• Professional development forums

Headquarters

HQ city

Springfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from science museum directors based on museum operating budget tiers. Membership is the primary mechanism for participation in ASMD events and programs.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ASMD is a non-profit professional membership association that provides tiered annual memberships to science museum leaders, hosts a 2.5-day annual Directors Forum, holds breakfast/reception events at AAM and ASTC meetings, and co-convenes Museums Advocacy Day in Washington D.C. The association facilitates peer networking, professional development, policy advocacy, and best-practice sharing among science museum executives.

Product overview

ASMD is a professional membership association for science museum directors, not a technology product company. The organization offers membership services, annual conferences (Directors Forums), AAM breakfast meetings, ASTC receptions, and advocacy program participation. The portfolio consists of membership programs and events rather than technology products or services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ASMD Membership
• ASMD Directors Forum
• AAM Annual Breakfast Meeting
• ASTC Annual Reception
• Museums Advocacy Day Participation

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Alliance of Museums (AAM)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerASMD is an affiliate of AAM. ASMD holds its annual breakfast meeting at the AAM Annual Meeting in the spring. ASMD and AAM collaborate on Museums Advocacy Day in Washington D.C.
• Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerASMD is an affiliate of ASTC. ASMD hosts an annual reception for science museum directors at the ASTC Annual Meeting in the fall. ASTC provided Zoom platform and technical assistance for ASMD's 2021 virtual Directors Forum.
• We ARE STILL IN Coalition / AMERICA IS ALL INminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2020, ASMD signed on to the We ARE STILL IN Coalition. In 2021, ASMD signed on to the next iteration called AMERICA IS ALL IN. ASMD museums are developing statements on human-caused climate change and sustainability plans. Bonnie Styles represents ASMD on the America is All In Leaders Circle.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD): Peer organization for directors of art museums; structurally the closest analog to ASMD in another museum vertical (art vs. science). Both operate as exclusive peer networks for museum directors with comparable membership, governance, and advocacy models.
• American Alliance of Museums (AAM): The broadest U.S. museum professional association. ASMD is an AAM affiliate and holds its annual breakfast meeting at AAM's annual meeting, making AAM the closest structural counterpart though it covers all museum types, not just science museums.
• American Association of State and Local History (AASLH): National professional association for state and local history organizations. Comparable membership-association structure serving a related but distinct museum/heritage vertical, with overlapping advocacy interests on federal funding.
• Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC): Sister association focused on science centers and technology centers. ASMD is an ASTC affiliate and hosts a reception at ASTC's annual conference. The two organizations have overlapping but distinct memberships (directors vs. the broader science center community).
• Association of Children's Museums (ACM): Professional association for children's museums, an adjacent vertical within the museum field. Comparable in operating model (membership dues, annual conference, advocacy) though it serves a different museum sub-segment.

Broad incumbents

• American Public Gardens Association: Professional association for public gardens and arboreta, including botanical gardens — a category explicitly eligible for ASMD membership. Overlaps with ASMD's botanical garden member segment.
• Natural Science Collections Alliance: Advocacy-focused alliance supporting natural science collections and institutions. Overlaps with ASMD's science-museum constituency on federal funding advocacy for NSF and IMLS, and shares several institutional members.
• Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA): Accrediting and advocacy body for zoos and aquariums in North America. Several ASMD member institutions are AZA-accredited, making AZA an adjacent professional society with overlapping constituency and parallel advocacy interests.

Regional players

• Midwestern Museums Conference: Regional museum association serving Midwestern U.S. institutions. Comparable in offering conferences and networking, but geographically narrower and not science-specific, so serves as a complement rather than direct competitor.

Others

• International Council of Museums (ICOM-US): U.S. National Committee of the international museum organization. Operates in an adjacent museum-policy and ethics space, occasionally intersecting with ASMD members on international museum standards and cross-border issues.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Association of Science Museum Directors