PA Museums is pleased to announce the winners of its 2026 Special Achievement Awards. For over 40 years, PA Museums has invited nominations from its membership and chosen institutions, projects, and individuals for recognition. This year, eleven (11) organizations have won Institutional Awards of Merit, and one (1) individual will receive an Individual Award for their outstanding contributions to the field.

This year’s award winners are:

Institutional Achievement Awards

Bethel Park Historical Society, Renovations to the Schoolhouse Center, Bethel Park, Allegheny County

Chester County Historical Society, True Crime on Trial, West Chester, Chester County

Cumberland County Historical Society, Carlisle Indian Industrial School Exhibition, Carlisle, Cumberland County

United States Army Heritage and Education Center, This We’ll Defend, Carlisle, Cumberland County

Mt. Tabor, Mt. Tabor Preservation Project, Mt. Holly Springs, Cumberland County

Conococheague Institute, Animal Husbandry on the Frontier, Mercersburg, Franklin County

Independence Seaport Museum, Teen Ambassadors Program, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County

Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County, Pennsylvania Maple Museum, Somerset, Somerset County

Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, Trolley Cottage Reinterpretation, Washington, Washington County

Westmoreland County Historical Society, Cut From the Same Cloth, Greensburg, Westmoreland County

Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Steel Valley Visions Exhibition and Immersive Experience, Greensburg, Westmoreland County

Individual Award

Robert Windhorst, Neville House Associates at Woodville Experience, Collier Township, Washington County