Scott Family Amazeum

The Scott Family Amazeum is a non-profit, interactive children's museum located in Bentonville, Arkansas, USA. The museum opened in 2015 following over 10 years of community support and fundraising for the project.

Scott Family Amazeum
Established2015
Location1009 Museum Way
Bentonville, Arkansas
Coordinates36.3792444°N 94.19760639999998°W / 36.3792444; -94.19760639999998 (Scott Family Amazeum)
TypeChildren's Museum
Visitors311,000 (2016)
Executive directorSam Dean
Websitewww.amazeum.org

History

Discussions among community leaders of creating a children's museum in Northwest Arkansas began in the early 2000s, with the early group obtaining 501c3 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 Amazeum is notable for its unique facility, which was designed to complement the nearby Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art museum.[5]

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.[6]

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:

  • 2016 Regional Excellence Wood Design Award from Building Design+Construction and Woodworks in recognition of its use of natural materials and its integration into the surrounding Ozark environment.[7][5][8]
  • 2016 Excellence in Hot-Dip Galvanizing Award in Building and Architecture from the American Galvanizers Association[6]
  • 2016 Excellence in Construction Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Arkansas[9]

Exhibits

The museum currently offers visitors 13 unique permanent exhibit areas.

  • Tinkering Hub
  • Hershey's Lab *
  • The Neighborhood Market
  • Art Studio
  • Canopy Climber
  • Lift, Load & Haul
  • Cloud Theater
  • Water Amazements
  • Homestead Cabin and Farm
  • Cave
  • Nickelodeon Play Lab
  • Emerging Explorers
  • Outdoor Playscape

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, PA.[10]

Grants

A standing grant from Tyson Foods allows the museum to offer "Priceless Nights" each month on Wednesdays.

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.
  5. "wood-structural-performance-with-family-friendly-excitement". www.architectmagazine.com. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  6. "Aspirations of Design Excellence | Metal Architecture". Metal Architecture. Metal Architecture. 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2018-05-11.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. "BEST IN WOOD: WoodWorks announces 2016 design award winners". Building Design + Construction. 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.
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