UA, State Museums Form Unique Network

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas Discovery Network is the first statewide museum collaborative in the country, a network dedicated to making hands-on, interactive museum experiences more accessible to the state’s 498,000 schoolchildren and their families.

Six Arkansas museums and the University of Arkansas worked together to plan the network, but a $7,373,173, five-year grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation of Las Vegas brought it to life.

“We know that many children in Arkansas seldom, if ever, have the opportunity to engage in the exciting experiential learning that comes from visiting our nation’s first-rate discovery museums,” said Fred W. Smith, chairman of the Reynolds Foundation. “The Arkansas Discovery Network will allow children even in the most remote parts of the state to share in the hands-on learning and the sheer fun that comes from experiencing wonderful museum exhibits.”

The Arkansas Discovery Network is now presenting its first exhibit to students in Northwest Arkansas. “Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body” is an interactive exhibit geared to students grades 3 and up that uses animatronics and imaginative play to explore the good, the bad and the downright ugly about runny noses, body odor and much more. The exhibit is based on the best-selling book by Sylvia Branzei; its creative approach and fun activities have fascinated young students around the country. The University of Arkansas’ Center for Mathematics and Science Education is sponsoring the exhibit, free of charge, at the Walton Arts Center Nadine Baum Studio through April 21. From there it will travel around the state for the next two years, making stops at each of the partner museums.

The network is offering a limited number of scholarships to local schools to help meet the cost of bringing students to one of the partner museums. Schools in Northwest Arkansas can apply for the scholarship by contacting the Center for Math and Science Education’s director, Lynne Hehr.

Arkansas Discovery Network members include the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, the Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs, the Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas in Pine Bluff, the Texarkana Museum System in Texarkana, the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover and the Arkansas State University Museum in Jonesboro. The Center for Mathematics and Science Education will host network exhibits until a permanent Northwest Arkansas museum partner is established.

“Our primary goal in funding this initiative is to touch as many rural children as possible in the state. Secondly, we hope to strengthen the individual member museums by providing resources through the network that they may never have had access to individually,” said Steven L. Anderson, president of the Reynolds Foundation.

In addition to “Grossology” and other future exhibits, the network is developing a “museum on wheels.”  The 40-foot vehicle will travel to rural areas bringing interactive exhibits to engage girls and boys in engineering skills. In “Search for Planet X” student “explorers” will execute assignments in computer-aided design, aerodynamic testing and laser beam splitting to gather information about the new planet. All activities and supplemental educational materials are aligned with the state science education framework to ensure it is a valuable learning experience for students. The vehicle will begin touring the state in fall 2007 but a 'sneak preview’ of the vehicle will be available on the University of Arkansas campus from Feb. 5 through Feb. 22.

The Arkansas Discovery Network is also providing enrichment opportunities for teachers.  This summer eight Arkansas teachers attended the world-renowned Exploratorium Summer Teacher Institute in San Francisco. They each spent four weeks immersed in the latest inquiry learning techniques. The middle school and high school math and science teachers spent 110 hours with scientists discovering unique ways to teach science to children. 

“The institute was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career as an educator. The institute instructors were exceptional,” said Connie Tenberge, a recent institute alumna. “My students are going to love doing these activities and hopefully love science because of them. I can't wait to share these ideas with the other teachers at my school.”