We (the Museum) recognize that diversity, among people and our natural environment, is an essential resource. As people increasingly impact the natural world, both locally and worldwide, communities need to value and explore a diversity of voices and experiences to effectively address the critical issues that we face. The Museum of Culture and Environment strives through its partnerships with students, colleagues, and the wider community to create a space where this diversity of voices can be heard. The museum’s goal is to create a dynamic and inclusive place where ideas, perspectives, and the newest research are shared. By upholding the highest ethical and professional standards in the care of collections, and in all operations and programs, the museum provokes public interest in contemporary issues and encourages a deeper, richer level of engagement with the changing world. The Museum of Culture and Environment is a forum where mutual understanding, respect, and support for one another will be the outcomes of exploring our shared diversity.

• Inspiring a sense of curiosity, appreciation, and inquiry through dynamic, experiential programming emphasizing the deep history of changing interrelationships among environments and cultures.
• Fostering connections and dialogs focused on understanding and respect among local and global communities by creating opportunities to explore and celebrate rich, diverse, and changing heritages as a venue for self-representation.
• Emphasizing multiple voices and enabling learning opportunities for self-discovery and critical thinking about complex cultural and environmental issues by promoting faculty-student-community collaboration and cooperative partnerships.
• Practicing ethical accountability in the management, acquisition, research, and interpretation of collections by upholding a commitment to professional museum standards and legal responsibilities.
• Creating a venue that is accessible and responsive to surrounding community and community-university partnerships as we advance Central Washington University’s core mission and relevant initiatives.

Museum Charter