What began as a community effort by a group of second and third-generation descendants of Czech immigrants in 1974 as an effort to preserve Czech heritage and culture evolved into national museum for everyone regardless of ethnic and cultural background. The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library celebrates life: Czech life, Slovak life, American life. We preserve the past to understand the present in preparation for the future. At the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, our story is your story and with your continued financial support, it will be a story for future generations, too.