The following text was distributed to Arizona newspapers:
For decades, the top rated Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
in Phoenix provided free K-12 earth science education programs. Twenty five
thousand students a year visited the museum on school field trips, with buses
coming from as far away as Yuma. Many teachers depended on museum resources to
comply with state mandated earth science education standard. Over 15 thousand more children, including
scouts and home schooled students, visited the museum each year for an informal
learning experience. Then, in 2010, the Arizona Historical Society was assigned
management responsibility for the museum. In less than a year, the doors were
locked for no apparent reason. The building has been vacant since.
Senate Bill 1200 would restore the museum and the K-12
education programs by reassigning museum management responsibility and museum
resources to the Arizona Geological Survey.
The bill is budget neutral, and would restore other museum services,
such as access to research material and displays that would be open to the
public. Incredibly, Senator Lynne Pancrazi spoke in opposition to the bill on
the floor of the Senate. She argued that a museum could not be successful
without the unique museum management expertise of the Arizona Historical
Society. The AZGS would be at a handicap.
Senator Pancrazi, are you aware that the AHS, despite many
millions of dollars in state subsidies, has never
produced a top rated museum? On what do you base your claim of unique AHS
management expertise? Are you aware that
the mineral museum was formerly successful because it was managed by scientists,
geologists and engineers? Are your aware
that the AZGS is staffed by scientists, geologists and engineers? Why do you
think the AZGS is not capable of presenting rock and mineral education to the
public? Finally, if the AHS has unique museum management expertise, why did
they close the only top rated museum they ever had control of? Please compare
the attendance records of the mineral museum with that of the AHS history
museums. You will see that you objection to SB1200 is completely unfounded.
So Sen. Pancrazi is impressed with the AHS management team? What is she smoking?
ReplyDeleteThe AHS Director sends the cash strapped AHS on a journey to open s Centennial Museum Boondoggle, a Rio Nuevo Downtown Tucson $1,400,000 wasted Boondoggle, a Arizona Experience Boondoggle, a Arizona 5"C"'s Boondoggle, a complete lack of ability to raise money or create any decent amount of publicity for the agency in the state or community.
Just what is Pancrazi impressed with?
The sad part is that she agreed that the closing of the Mining and Mineral Museum was a "tragedy", and then says she is against the bill to give it back to the kids. Why? Well, maybe AGS doesn't know how to run a museum! AHS doesn't --they have yet to explain why they violated their own statutes and unnecessarily closed the MMM. Like AHS she is content with doing nothing, despite the tragedy AHS caused for the kids. Oh what twisted webs they weave!!
ReplyDeleteSo what is the AHS Lobbyist Norton telling the Az Legislators? Or should I say lying about. The AHS should not be running the Mineral Museum. Excuse me the vacant building with the stolen collections. Woosley only set this up as smoke and mirrors to escape major budget cuts. Didn't the Legislators read the AG Report. Woosley does a good job of closing museums and running good staff off or hiring staff that cannot do their job.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that the AGS can do a good job. So what experience did Madison Barkley have before she took over the job at the AHS. None.
ReplyDelete