The Bead Society of Greater Washington/Bead Museum Home Page

MISSION

The Bead Society of
Greater Washington is dedicated
to furthering the understanding
and appreciation of beads--
personal ornaments that
not only express human
aesthetic impulses but
embody deep symbolic
significance, and are among
mankind's earliest, most
universal, and most enduring
creative achievements.
The Bead Society promotes
cultural understanding through
the interpretation of beads.

NEXT BAZAAR: April 21-22,, 2012

With great sadness the Bead Museum Washington DC closed its doors to the public on December 31, 2008. Though successful on many levels, the mounting costs of operating the Museum in the current fiscal climate dictated the decision to close. We thank the many volunteers who donated their precious time and energy, and the many other friends whose generous donations enabled us to exist in the heart of our nations capital for 12 years.

Programs - the majority of the programs affiliated with the museum will continue as activities of The Bead Society of Greater Washington.

Please visit some of our past exhibits
http://bsgw.org/pastexhibits.html

The Board of BSGW is pleased to announce a new home for the Bead Timeline of History, formerly in the permanent collection of the Bead Museum DC. After the closing of the Bead Museum, BSGW sought another museum or similar institution that would be interested in acquiring the Timeline and the beads in the permanent collection so that they would remain available to bead researchers for study and to the general public for enjoyment. After an extensive search, there was unanimous agreement to donate the Timeline and collection to the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University. The transfer took place in October, 2009. Considerations of geography and interest among anthropology/ archaeology faculty members in using the Timeline for bead study within the context of their teaching and research were major factors in our decision.