The Madness continues

Nearly two years ago, in April of 2011, the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum was abruptly closed. The entire staff was escorted offsite and fired, and police prevented access to the building as a contractor changed all of the locks. Children anticipating scheduled field trips were out of luck, as are visitors that still arrive at the building on a daily basis. The closing did NOT save money. As of this date, the AHS still receives funding for the mineral museum. According to the new state budget, they will receive the money next year as well.

The locked and now empty building still has a small sign in the window that says “temporarily closed for construction”.  What construction? When? Just how long is temporary?  Apparently what really happened was destruction.

Where is the state mineral collection?  Why can’t people see it, even though the taxpayers continue to fund both a building and a staff?

The AHS has now begun placing a “mineral gallery” on their website. This may be consistent with the thinking behind their centennial museum boondoggle, which suggested that a digital image of an artifact was as good as or perhaps even better than the real thing.  But, it is stupid.

Arizonians are still paying for a mineral museum, but they no longer have one. A “gallery” on a website is not a museum.