5C Arizona Centennial Museum boondoggle caught in the lights

For over a year and a half, centennial museum planners and plotters have been working in secrecy. They knew that to have a successful boondoggle, you have to finish it before you are discovered. Unfortunately for them, sunlight is catching up with them before they even got a good start. They still do not have the money, and they have only a few architects’ sketches for plans.

Several recent Arizona Republic and azcentral.com articles put some very unwelcome light on them. A very fair an balanced article by Rau and Pitzl revealed that they are way behind schedule and have only raised about 10% of the needed funds. Because the “centennial” museum can never open for the centennial anymore, they are struggling with changes to the name and the theme. They also have created determined opposition that recognizes the existing and top rated mineral museum they are destroying is far more valuable that the boondoggle they are trying to build.

Later, not so balanced articles by Ingley simply described it as the destructive boondoggle that it is. It not only wastes money, it destroys a valuable part of Arizona’s heritage. On Mar 22, Ingley wrote:

Arizona is about to celebrate its centennial by closing a place that explains a big part of our heritage …. It’s going to be replaced by a needlessly redundant museum …

On March 23 she wrote the following about the centennial museum:

The concept is mushy and changing. The price is mushy and rising. This has all the makings of a boondoggle. Worse, we sacrifice a fine institution that is also and educational resource for teachers and school kids. How dumb is that?

She went on to describe the 5C theme as “staggeringly snoozy” and “not a prescription for compelling exhibits of historical balance.”

The centennial museum boondoggle had better hurry. Bad press is catching up with them. The Arizona legislature did not have the common sense required to kill this foolish venture when they had the chance, but an informed public will. Informed teachers and students will become outraged. Hundreds of thousands of parents and grandparents that fondly remember their class field trip to the mineral museum will not be abused with a 5C gang that is trying to cheat their children and grandchildren out of that experience.

Time is running out for the 5C gang and their cherished sole source, east coast contractor.

References:

Centennial museum hits snags
Some are against subject change; fundraising slow
by Alia Beard Rau and Mary Jo Pitzl
The Arizona Republic, Page B3, Mar. 20, 2011

Shutting mining museum makes no sense
Don't celebrate by closing a museum
By Kathleen Ingley, The Arizona Republic, page B5, Mar. 22, 2011

Don't celebrate centennial by killing a museum
Kathleen Ingley’s blog
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/KathleenIngley
March 23, 2011