Historical Society Absurdity

Although provided with a generous budget by taxpayers, the Arizona Historical Society has never produced a top rated history museum. Incredibly, they now seem to envision operating a science education program.

A prior post described the “Arizona Mineral Education” link that was added to the AHS website in 2011. Now, the AHS website has an EDUCATION tab on the left. Clicking on it opens a menu with a SCIENCE EDUCATION icon on the very top.  Under that icon, there is an INTERNET RESOURCES tab that provides links to many existing internet sites on rocks and minerals (and also women in mining).  There are tabs for kid’s science projects, and teacher’s science kits. To the right of those tabs is a table with downloadable information on not only rocks, minerals, and geology, but also CLIMATE!

This nonsense on the AHS website raises a number of questions:

1.         What right minded teacher would search for science education material on a historical society website?

2.         Why should Arizona taxpayers support AHS staff that is assembling science education links on the AHS website where no one would look for it?

3.         Does the AHS really think that science fluff on a historical society website could compensate for depriving tens of thousands (per school year) of students from the earth science education programs formerly provided by the mineral museum which they acquired and destroyed?

Mineral Museum Hearing Cancelled

The Monday hearing on House Bill 2086 (mineral museum restoration) has been cancelled by the committee chairman.

There is no information available on the reason why.

Restoration of the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum?

There will be a hearing on a bill to restore the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum on Monday, January 23.  The hearing will be held in room HHR 4 at 2:00 PM.

Arizona House of Representatives

Capitol Complex

1700 West Washington

Phoenix, AZ 85007-2890

Info Desk        (602) 926-4221

Toll Free:         1-800-352-8404

Individuals intending to participate in or observe the hearing should expect delays. There are four bills on the agenda, and the order in which the bills will be heard in not determined until the hearing begins.

Requests to speak must be made in advance, either online or at the kiosk in the lobby.  The committee usually allows each speaker 3 to 5 minutes, depending upon how many people request to speak.

The bill will be heard by the  COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES.

Members of that committee are:

    Mrs. Barton      Mr. Patterson            Mr. Wheeler

    Ms. Fann          Miss Reeve              Mrs. Brophy McGee

    Mrs. Judd         Mr. Saldate              Mr. Pratt, Chairman

                         

Reference:

HB 2086 Introduced by  Representative Ableser

AN ACT, Amending sections 27-102, 27-152.02, 28-2448, 41-821, 41-827 and 41-827.01, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to the mining and mineral museum.

http://www.azleg.gov//FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/50leg/2r/bills/hb2086p.htm&Session_ID=107

Freeport continues to push Arizona Experience Museum

The paragraph below indicates that as of last November, Freeport McMoran was still strongly supporting the failed Arizona Centennial (AKA Experience) Museum which has displaced the top rated and historic Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum.

Why?

Arizona Centennial Museum – is on hold in Phase II fundraising component.  We need another $800,000 to get us through February 14, 2012.  We are encouraging more cooperation to step up.  Once the February 14, 2012 event is done, we can reenergize the museum.  Based on the feasibility study that Freeport McMoRan is doing at the present time, we will be able to access moving forward.  We have not been able to enlist more corporations to help fund the museum.  We need $15,000,000 and at this point we could count on approx $3,000,000.  Since the museum is basically on hold at this point, the Governor’s office has asked us to do another project, which is the Arizona Experience website.  We are working with the Arizona Geological Survey and the Arizona Historical Society to build a website portal set to K – 12 curriculum standards and will be based on the concept of the “Arizona Experience Museum”.  We are working with STEM group.  Everyone has been very forthcoming, including the Arizona Office in Tourism, in helping us develop this website.  Our goal is to kick this off on February 14, 2012 and add more components monthly to the site.

Reference:
Governor’s Tourism Advisory Council Meeting (TAC)

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Audubon Arizona

3131 South Central Avenue

Phoenix, Arizona

Meeting Minutes, Page 4

Arizona Centennial – Karen Churchard

Signature Failure featured at Arizona Best Fest

The Arizona Centennial Best Fest Phoenix, a Signature Event of the Arizona Centennial Commission, is described as follows:

It's the Arizona party of the century! --- It's Arizona Best Fest Phoenix. The 'Best of Arizona' showcase is a traveling museum and mini 'Arizona world's fair'.  --- Discover Arizona as you've never seen it: History Pavilion; Military Pavilion; the Resolution Copper Natural Resources Pavilion; the APS display of Renewable Energy; the U of A Science & Future Pavilion; Shamrock Farms Family Fun Zone; a Hispanic Village with Zumba and traditional equestrian dancers; Giant's Native American Village ---; and the Discount Tire Western Town. --- Also a concert-sized Mainstage featuring --- big-name entertainers.  Feb. 11 & 12, on Centennial Way from 8th Avenue to 17th Avenue.

The former, top rated Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum was at 15^th Avenue and Centennial Way, right in the midst of Best Fest. The Arizona Historical Society and the Arizona Centennial 2012 Foundation promised to replace it with their “number one signature project” and the “centerpiece” of the centennial celebration. The $15.7 million 5C Arizona Centennial Museum was to be “unlike anything in Arizona”.

Indeed it is.

Stripped of its name and contents, the empty mineral museum building will reek with the stench of failure right in the midst of Arizona’s centennial celebration. The AHS not only failed to produce the promised “centerpiece” of the centennial celebration, but managed to destroy a piece of Arizona’s unique mining heritage that traced its roots back to the 1884 territorial fair.

This is not just a failure. It is a 100 year failure, a true “signature failure”.

Save the Mineral Museum

Lee Allison (Arizona State Geologist) has a blog.  Go to www.arizonageology.blogspot.com.  You can make comments, hopefully in a positive manner, supporting the transfer of the mineral museum from the AHS to the AZGS.

You should also contact your state representatives and senators and ask them to support HB2086.

The Saturday, January 07, 2012 AZGS blog post reads as follows:

Legislation calls for AZGS to create mining & mineral museum

State Rep. Eddie Ableser (D-Tempe) introduced legislation [HB2086] directing the Arizona Geological Survey to establish a mineral and mining museum. It would also remove the mining and mineral components of the currently proposed Arizona Centennial Museum that was planned for the former Arizona Mining & Mineral Museum building in Phoenix.

We have had no conversations with Rep. Ableser about his bill and were not aware it was being drafted.

The key language to be added to the AZGS state statutes is:

    The department [AZGS] shall maintain a mining and mineral museum as the state depository for collecting, and cataloging and displaying mining artifacts and specimens, of various ores, gemstones, lapidary material and equipment and other valuable documents relating to mining and minerals mineral specimens. In connection with the museum, the state geologist may:

    1. Establish and collect entrance fees to the museum for persons who are at least eighteen years of age.

    2. Operate a retail gift shop, including the acquisition, purchase and resale of mineral specimens and mineral-related items.

    3. Employ a curator for the museum.

    4. Pay the necessary maintenance and operation expenses of the museum.

Arizona’s Botched Centennial Celebration

The Arizona Best Fest events were to be the major centennial celebrations. They were to be held in Prescott in September, Tucson in November, and Phoenix in February.  The Prescott event was held as scheduled, but the Tucson one was not. 

The Arizona Centennial Commission & Foundation spent their funds designing the Arizona Historical Society’s $15 million 5C Arizona Centennial Museum instead. Like their $80 million History Museum at Rio Nuevo in Tucson, it will never be built because the AHS did not raise the funds for construction.

This is strike three for the AHS.  They spend millions designing things they cannot build.  Their resume of failure now includes the Marley Center Museum in Tempe, the History Museum at Rio Nuevo in Tucson, and the 5C Arizona Centennial Museum in Phoenix. The Marley was unique because it was actually built (but shouldn’t have been). The state provided funds for the building, but the AHS then failed to raise the funds for the displays. The state then raised more money for the displays, but the AHS then failed to maintain them. The interactive displays in the Marley are now a pile of junk. 

 

Why did the Arizona Centennial Commission fund another AHS failure rather than the Centennial Best Fest celebrations? 

Reference:

Weary of waiting for the state, Tucsonans plan centennial bash

Veronica M. Cruz, Arizona Daily Star

Friday, December 30, 2011 12:00 am