The failed 5C Arizona Centennial Museum morphed in the Arizona Experience Museum. The failed Arizona Experience Museum then morphed into www.arizonaexperience.org, which supposedly would have been the museums website if there had been such a museum. As a result, we now have:
- The Arizona Historical Society diverted from preserving Arizona history. It is now busy, using tax dollars, forecasting the future and supposedly developing science education programs.
- Arizona Geological Survey resources diverted from its mission. Tasked with developing the Arizona Centennial Commission’s Arizona Experience website, it is now forced to support biology, astronomy, ranching, agriculture, sports and recreation, and even Indian culture.
- A completely empty and unnamed building at 1502 West Washington in Phoenix. Since the AHS is being funded for both rent and staff, that building is costing taxpayers more than it did when it was the top rated mineral museum.
- Arizona children deprived of former self-supporting K-12 earth science education programs. Those programs used to support the state mandated education standards. Arizona teachers were left with no alternate means of support for a specialty they are not trained in.
In exchange, we have www.arizonaexperience.org, which is nothing but a liability. It presents almost nothing that is not already on the internet. However, taxpayer supported staff will have an unending job trying to keep the links updated. Like the Arizona Experience Museum, www.arizonaexperience.org is simply a state operated boondoggle will waste resources until it too eventually dies.
Three weeks past the Arizona Centennial and we can smell the rotting flesh of the Az. Experience/Ariz 5 "C"s Museum/and now a website from a mile away. What a waste.
ReplyDeleteThe FBI Audit is coming out soon on the Rio Nuevo mess in Tucson. That's where they spent $230,000,000 (yes that's millions) and got nothing. The AHS spent $1,400,000 (yes million again) for exhibit plans for a non-existant museum.
ReplyDeleteSound familiar? $250,000 for another east coast exhibits designer for another non-existant Phoenix museum. Its getting to be a habit! So where is the Arizona Historical Society Board in all of this? Somebody wake them up.
Wow. I havent kept up on this story in awhile, but this really pisses me off. I would have felt better about the loss of the mineral museum if we got a really cool museum in its place. But instead we got nothing? Arizona residents got swindled.
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