Scott Family Amazeum Explained

Scott Family Amazeum
Coordinates:36.3792°N -94.1976°W
Established:2015
Location:1009 Museum Way
Bentonville, Arkansas
Type:Children's Museum Science Center
Website:www.amazeum.org
Executive Director:Sam Dean
Visitors:1,679,254 (2023)

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.

Background

Name

Combining the words “Amazing” and “Museum".

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

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.

Awards of note:

Exhibits

The museum currently has following 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]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Scott Family Amazeum Hosts Grand Opening Celebration. Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce Fayetteville, AR. en. 2018-05-11.
  2. News: Amazeum throwing ‘birthday’ bash, marks 560,000 visitors in 2 years - Talk Business & Politics. 2017-07-13. Talk Business & Politics. 2018-05-11. en-US.
  3. News: Scott Family Amazeum Surpasses 200,000 Visitors in Seven Months - Talk Business & Politics. 2016-02-23. Talk Business & Politics. 2018-05-11. en-US.
  4. Web site: In less than four years, Scott Family Amazeum in Bentonville welcomes one million visitors. 2019-04-15. Talk Business & Politics. 2019-09-15.
  5. Web site: Aspirations of Design Excellence Metal Architecture. 2018-04-12. Metal Architecture. en-us. Metal Architecture. 2018-05-11.
  6. News: BEST IN WOOD: WoodWorks announces 2016 design award winners. Building Design + Construction. 2018-05-11. en.
  7. Web site: wood-structural-performance-with-family-friendly-excitement . 2018-05-11 . www.architectmagazine.com.
  8. News: 2016 South Atlantic Regional Award Winner Project Team - Scott Family Amazeum - WoodWorks. WoodWorks. 2018-05-11. en-US.
  9. News: Excellence in Construction awards announced. Log Cabin Democrat. 2018-05-11. en.
  10. News: $21.5M Amazeum Opens in Bentonville. Arkansas Business. 2018-05-26. en.