Scott Family Amazeum

Last updated
Scott Family Amazeum
Scott Family Amazeum
Established2015
Location1009 Museum Way
Bentonville, Arkansas
Coordinates 36°22′45″N94°11′51″W / 36.3792444°N 94.19760639999998°W / 36.3792444; -94.19760639999998 (Scott Family Amazeum) Coordinates: 36°22′45″N94°11′51″W / 36.3792444°N 94.19760639999998°W / 36.3792444; -94.19760639999998 (Scott Family Amazeum)
Type Children's Museum Science Center
Visitors1,679,254 (2023)
Executive directorSam Dean
Website www.amazeum.org

The Scott Family Amazeum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, interactive children's museum of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) based experiences for families located in Bentonville, Arkansas, USA.

Contents

Background

Combining the words “Amazing” and “Museum,” the name “Amazeum” captures the excitement, intrigue, and curiosity that embodies the Amazeum experience. The three shapes within the Amazeum’s logo - a leaf, lightning bolt (Zing), and hand representing the museum’s experience. The leaf - growth and nature, the Zing or lightning bolt for the “aha” moments at the museum, and the hand for the hands-on nature of the exhibits for children and families.

History

Discussions among community leaders of creating a children's museum in Northwest Arkansas began in the early 2000s, with the early group obtaining 501(c)(3) non-profit status in 2006. Fundraising continued during the following years. The official groundbreaking was held in April 2014, and the grand opening of the Amazeum was held in July 2015. [1]

Major fundraising was conducted for nearly a decade prior to the opening of the museum. One of the major contributors to the museum is former Walmart CEO Lee Scott and his family, as well as the Walton Family Foundation among others.

The museum initially expected an annual attendance of 160,000, but welcomed 311,000 visitors in their first full year, and over one million visitors by its fourth anniversary. [2] [3] [4]

Facility

Amazeum building Amazeum Building.jpg
Amazeum building

The 52,000-square-foot entire facility has earned LEED Silver certification and is designed to show how the building is constructed as much as possible, with exposed supports and connections. [5]

The Amazeum grounds feature a number of cycling and pedestrian trails offering direct pedestrian access to Crystal Bridges and the rest of Bentonville.

The main facility has won multiple awards for its design and construction.

Awards of note:

Exhibits

The museum currently offers visitors the following unique permanent exhibit areas.

Additionally there is a rotating exhibit area which refreshes several times a year with new or traveling exhibits.

* The Hershey's lab is the only exhibit of its kind outside of the Hershey Company Headquarters in Hershey, Pennsylvania. [10]

Educational Outreach

Unfield Trips

Unfield Trips are a twist added to traditional school field trips, they provide unique resources to empower teachers and inspire learning before, during, and after the visit. In the museum and virtually, our skilled educators will spark curiosity, and the discovery will naturally continue back in the classroom. Thanks to the generous support of the Walmart Foundation, admission and virtual resources are free for pre-K through 12th grade public, private, homeschool, and charter school students in Benton and Washington counties.

Making Spaces Program

The Amazeum partners with the Maker Education Initiative and the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh (CMP) to provide local schools with guidance, professional development, and support to jump start and sustain maker education in classrooms.

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References

  1. "Scott Family Amazeum Hosts Grand Opening Celebration". Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce | Fayetteville, AR. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  2. "Amazeum throwing 'birthday' bash, marks 560,000 visitors in 2 years - Talk Business & Politics". Talk Business & Politics. 2017-07-13. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  3. "Scott Family Amazeum Surpasses 200,000 Visitors in Seven Months - Talk Business & Politics". Talk Business & Politics. 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  4. "In less than four years, Scott Family Amazeum in Bentonville welcomes one million visitors". Talk Business & Politics. 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
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  6. "BEST IN WOOD: WoodWorks announces 2016 design award winners". Building Design + Construction. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  7. "wood-structural-performance-with-family-friendly-excitement". www.architectmagazine.com. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  8. "2016 South Atlantic Regional Award Winner Project Team - Scott Family Amazeum - WoodWorks". WoodWorks. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  9. "Excellence in Construction awards announced". Log Cabin Democrat. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  10. "$21.5M Amazeum Opens in Bentonville". Arkansas Business. Retrieved 2018-05-26.