The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) houses an impressive collection of 33,000 works that spans all of human history; nearly every culture from around the world is represented. As such, the SLAM is one of the leading comprehensive museums in the country. The collection includes paintings, sculptures, photography prints, ancient artifacts, weaponry, textiles, and other forms of art. It is possible to see 3,000 (and counting) of these items on the museum's website. The museum puts on exhibitions throughout the year to complement the permanent exhibition galleries. Education and outreach are also important goals of the museum. To this end, it offers classes for people of all ages, concerts, performances, films, and lectures.
SLAM was founded in 1879 as the St. Louis Museum of Fine Art and was part of Washington University of St. Louis. After the 1904 World's Fair, the museum moved into its current building, the former Palace of Fine Arts, which was constructed for the fair. In 1909, the museum ended its affiliation with the university and renamed itself City Art Museum. It adopted its current name in 1972 and underwent a large expansion in 2013.