First Look at the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Prior to its grand opening Sept. 24, the National Museum of African American History and Culture hosted an open house for its nearly 10,000 charter members, those whose donations made the creation of the $540 million museum possible.

Howard University News Service reporter Sidnee King spoke with some as they toured the facility last weekend and they shared their thoughts on what makes the building and its structures so important to them. See the video here.

The museum is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history and culture. Over 13 years in the making, it was established by Congress in 2003 to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans.

The museum has collected more than 36,000 artifacts and has exhibits on music, sports, slavery, activism and more. The Associated Press also toured the press opening and took these pictures of the new museum:

National Museum of American History and Culture

A statue of the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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A statue of the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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An exhibit on the Civil War is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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The Washington Monument is framed by a window at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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An exhibit on comedy is part of the display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Louis Armstrong's trumpet, and other artifacts are displayed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Chuck Berry's 1973 Cadillac Eldorado is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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An exhibit on music is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Tiger Woods is one of many athletes featured at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, seen during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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A statue of Chicago Bulls basketball great, hall-of-famer Michael Jordan is featured at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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A display featuring the Hope Rosenwald School, also known as Hope School which served rural African-American children in the early 20th century, is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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An exhibit featuring activism is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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People wait to go through security as they arrive for a media preview of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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A worker cleans a window at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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The Washington Monument is reflected in a window of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Workers finalize the installation of a sculpture by Richard Hunt, an African-American abstract sculptor and artist, at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Richard Hunt, an African-American abstract sculptor and artist, stands with his sculpture on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Shoes, featuring President Barack Obama, painted by Van Taylor Monroe are on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Shoes, featuring President Barack Obama, painted by Van Taylor Monroe are on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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A dress belonging to Latin music singer Celia Cruz is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Gloria Jolivet, a niece-in-law to Bo Diddley, left, and Ellis McDaniel, Jr., right, son of Bo Diddley, stop to look at the exhibited space dedicated to Bo Diddley at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Ellis McDaniel, Jr., son of Bo Diddley, stops to look at the exhibited space dedicated to his father at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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A statue of the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, is part of the sports exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Gloria Jolivet, a niece-in-law to Bo Diddley, stops to look at the exhibited space dedicated to Bo Diddley at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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A slave cabin from the Point of Pines Plantation is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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A Lowcountry drum from about 1900 is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Preparations are finalized for the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Items are on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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A statue of pioneer Clara Brown, who was born a slave in Virginia around 1800, is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. Brown travelled to Colorado, after she was freed when her slaveowner died in 1856, where she established a successful laundry business. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Carla Hall, the Chew co-host and Top Chef alum, poses for a photo inside the North Star Cafe at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. Hall is the consulting chef, or "culinary ambassador," for the North Star Cafe. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Chef Jerome Grant poses for a photo inside the North Star Cafe at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. Grant is the executive chef for the North Star Cafe at the museum. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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A statue of the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

An exhibit on the Civil War is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The Washington Monument is framed by a window at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

An exhibit on comedy is part of the display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Louis Armstrong's trumpet, and other artifacts are displayed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Chuck Berry's 1973 Cadillac Eldorado is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

An exhibit on music is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Tiger Woods is one of many athletes featured at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, seen during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

A statue of Chicago Bulls basketball great, hall-of-famer Michael Jordan is featured at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

A display featuring the Hope Rosenwald School, also known as Hope School which served rural African-American children in the early 20th century, is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

An exhibit featuring activism is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

People wait to go through security as they arrive for a media preview of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

A worker cleans a window at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The Washington Monument is reflected in a window of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Workers finalize the installation of a sculpture by Richard Hunt, an African-American abstract sculptor and artist, at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Richard Hunt, an African-American abstract sculptor and artist, stands with his sculpture on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Shoes, featuring President Barack Obama, painted by Van Taylor Monroe are on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

A dress belonging to Latin music singer Celia Cruz is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Gloria Jolivet, a niece-in-law to Bo Diddley, left, and Ellis McDaniel, Jr., right, son of Bo Diddley, stop to look at the exhibited space dedicated to Bo Diddley at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Ellis McDaniel, Jr., son of Bo Diddley, stops to look at the exhibited space dedicated to his father at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

A statue of the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, is part of the sports exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Gloria Jolivet, a niece-in-law to Bo Diddley, stops to look at the exhibited space dedicated to Bo Diddley at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

A slave cabin from the Point of Pines Plantation is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

A Lowcountry drum from about 1900 is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Preparations are finalized for the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Items are on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

A statue of pioneer Clara Brown, who was born a slave in Virginia around 1800, is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. Brown travelled to Colorado, after she was freed when her slaveowner died in 1856, where she established a successful laundry business. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Carla Hall, the Chew co-host and Top Chef alum, poses for a photo inside the North Star Cafe at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. Hall is the consulting chef, or "culinary ambassador," for the North Star Cafe. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Chef Jerome Grant poses for a photo inside the North Star Cafe at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. Grant is the executive chef for the North Star Cafe at the museum. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Lonnie Burch III, the museum's founding director said the museum tells a unique American story through the eyes African American history.

"This Museum will tell the American story through the lens of African American history and culture. This is America’s Story and this museum is for all Americans," Burch said.