BENTONVILLE -- Northwest Arkansas' newest cultural amenity is expected to have lasting impacts on tourism, quality of life and education in the region, various officials say.
The Scott Family Amazeum opens Wednesday.
Amazeum Hours of operation:
• Monday, Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m.
• Tuesday - closed.
Amazeum will remain open until 7 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays through Labor Day on Sept. 7.
Source: Amazeum.org
Admission and membership rates
A single-day admission is $9.50. Those younger than 2 are admitted free.
Family memberships for up to four people starts at $95. Other memberships are available. Benefits include reciprocal admission with other science and children’s museums across the country.
More details about memberships can be found at Amazeum.org.
"The opening of the doors is not the end, but the beginning," said Sam Dean, executive director.
The 50,000-square-foot children's museum is at 1009 Museum Way at the entrance to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The long-awaited interactive family center will open to the public at 10 a.m. Members can enter at 9 a.m.
Officials expect more than 2,000 people to visit the first day.
People can expect a party-type atmosphere, said Molly Rawn, director of development and communications.
"We do recognize that it's going to be a busy day so we do have things built in to enhance our guests' experience that day, some special prizes in store," she said.
The Impact
The interactive children's museum is the latest addition to Northwest Arkansas' philanthropic arts effort. Area officials have cited the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville as the beginning in 1992. Crystal Bridges followed in 2011 and now Amazeum is being added.
It took $24 million to get Amazeum ready for opening, Rawn said. That includes the building, exhibits and other expenses.
The money came from grants, corporate sponsorships and donations. The Walton Family Foundation provided a $10 million matching grant and donated the land. Other major donors include Lee and Linda Scott, Hershey Company, the Walmart Foundation, General Mills and Nickelodeon.
"It's the poster child for generosity and philanthropy in Northwest Arkansas," Bentonville's Mayor Bob McCaslin said.
The museum will benefit the region on several levels, said Mike Malone, Northwest Arkansas Council president and chief executive officer.
It's another great quality of life amenity for residents and another memorable experience for tourists, he said.
It can also be a draw as companies in Northwest Arkansas compete for talent in larger markets, Malone added.
"The more (amenities) you have, the better chance you're going to connect" with talent prospects that companies are trying to recruit and retain, he said.
"It'll be a big draw regionally," McCaslin said. "I think it is a significant contributor to Bentonville's increasing fame as a destination."
Amazeum officials aren't sure how far visitors will come from and will focus on connecting with those in Northwest Arkansas during the museum's first year. Officials predict the Amazeum will see 160,000 guests its first year, said Dana Engelbert, marketing manager.
Dean spoke about the relational impact Amazeum can make -- as it's a place where children and adults can play and learn together.
"Those are rare moments and rare places where that happens," he said. "There's special kinds of learning that happens when kids see adults play ... and try things for the first time."
The goal is to nurture and spark a more creative and curious community. That means creating learning moments that will extend outside the museum's walls, Dean said.
Some of that already has happened with events like Tinkerfest, a one-day arts festival held in October, he said.
School partnerships
One of Amazeum's goals is to enhance and play a role in the "already strong education ecosystems in Northwest Arkansas," Dean said.
The Amazeum Council of Educators is a group of teachers and educational administrators who work with Amazeum officials on how to make the biggest impact on students and teachers.
Some of their conversations include how to make field trips successful and to how to get teachers and students comfortable with "tinkering" in the classroom, said Amy Van Pelt, council member and sixth-grade science teacher at Old High Middle School in Bentonville.
"A collaborative relationship between educators and the area museums is vital to growing the next generation of thinkers," she said. "Museum environments are designed to make people wonder, question and reflect through experiences."
New education standards are encouraging educators to adopt an inquiry-based learning approach, Connie Matchell said. Matchell also serves on the council of educators. She was the curriculum coordinator for the Siloam Springs School District, but recently became a professor of teacher education at John Brown University.
"That is the type of learning experiences that the Amazeum will be providing," she said. "The Amazeum will be a wonderful, safe place for kids to follow through on their curious nature. Learning about science from a hands-on perspective will get students excited about learning and will make a lasting impression."
Experiences at Amazeum may encourage more students to enter science-based career paths, Matchell said.
Amazeum's workshops for teachers will provide tools for educators.
"I believe the Amazeum will inspire teachers to grant more freedom to their students, and in return, the students will take greater risks and therefore enjoy greater rewards and richer learning experiences," Van Pelt said.
A $327,000 Walmart Foundation grant will provide free admission for field trips for an estimated 20,000 school children in Benton and Washington counties in the upcoming school year.
The History
The idea for a children's museum in Northwest Arkansas started brewing in 2005. Thirty volunteers, lead by local resident Jim Demaree, created the Children's Museum of Northwest Arkansas as a nonprofit organization in the summer of 2006.
At that time, officials were optimistic the museum could open as early as 2009. The recession slowed progress, but didn't stop it, Demaree said.
"(It) left us beat up a bit, but we never abandoned our dream," he said.
The organization held its first fundraiser, hired its first paid employee and began to partner with area public libraries and other organizations to provide programming in 2008.
Organizers provided programming, raised money and looked for locations for the museum's home for the next several years.
A new name and a location were announced in summer 2013, and Dean was named Amazeum's executive director. The building was constructed on the northwest corner of Northeast J Street and John DeShields Boulevard, just north of the entrance to Crystal Bridges.
Officials opened the Tinkering Studio at the organization's temporary space on Northeast Second Street where its growing staff operated out of until recently moving into the museum.
Unchanged Vision
The vision for the children's museum hasn't changed from the early brainstorming days, Demaree said.
"What we intended then is what we are seeing and will see for many years to come in the way of learning through play, curiosity, imagination, amazement and collaboration," he said.
The vision didn't change, but the project's scope did, said Eric Scott, an Amazeum board member who is part of the family the building was named after. Lee Scott, his father, is the former CEO of Walmart.
The Walton Family Foundation's $10 million challenge grant and land donation for the site increased the project's scope, Scott said.
"That was one of the things that really pushed us and the board and everyone involved to think what this could really be," he said.
It also needed to be of a high caliber to complement the class and sophistication of Crystal Bridges, Scott added.
Crystal Bridges expanded the local mindset to what was possible in regard to the arts and culture in Northwest Arkansas, he said, adding that the children's museum would have been "just much simpler" and probably less than half this size if was built 10 years ago.
Demaree described Amazeum's building as world class. The museum has exceeded expectations, he said.
"My hope is that the Scott Family Amazeum will bring families and people of all colors and cultures together to enjoy their time with each other, to learn and play in this awesome place," Demaree said.
Amazeum surpassed the expectations of the Parry family during their first visit during a member preview day last week, Emma Parry said. She went with her husband and two daughters, ages 2 and 7.
"I had a happy tear because you get to see them so joyful," she said looking at her daughters. "It's like everything you'd want to get your hands on as a kid."
The family went again for a different preview event Saturday.
Lily, 7, rattled off several experiences she had when asked what was her favorite.
"I would go every day if I could," she said with a wide, joyful smile.
NW News on 07/12/2015