Tag Archives: Museum of Discovery

Bass next CEO of Museum of Discovery

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The Museum of Discovery today announced that Kelley Bass will become the next CEO of the Museum.  He will succeed Nan Selz who retires at the end of this year.

Bass, who is currently Assistant Dean for External Affairs at the UALR’s Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology. Prior to that he worked at Acxiom, Arkansas Business Publishing Group and newspapers in Arkansas and Missouri.

He has been a member of the Museum’s Board of Directors for the past three years as the facility has undergone an extension renvoation and reinvigoration under Selz’s leadership.  He has also been active in Riverfest and other downtown activities.

The Museum of Discovery was founded in 1927 and is Little Rock’s oldest museum.
The museum was originally accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1993 and was re-accredited in 2001. During the period between its founding and its accreditation, the museum actively collected approximately 14,000 cultural and historical artifacts and numerous species of live animals and insects.

Selz and Bass

In 1998, the museum moved to the River Market and in 2003 became a Smithsonian Affiliate.  In 2011, the museum closed for nine months in order to add a new entrance and undergo a total renovation. This project, funded by a grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, also provided funding for new, interactive science exhibits, completing the museum’s transformation from a collecting museum to a science center.

The Mission of the Museum of Discovery: To ignite a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment.

Museum of Discovery to Feature Annual Native American Event

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As part of its educational programming, the Museum of Discovery welcomes back the Dancing Eagles for its popular annual Native American event. Tribal Trails will be held November 15-17, 2012.

Mike and Lisa Pahsetopah, with daughter Heaven, will return to present their interactive, cultural programs for both school and general audiences. Mike is an award-winning Fancy Dancer who performs the Eagle Dance and Hoop Dance. Lisa and Heaven will present the Southern Cloth, Jingles and Fancy Shawl styles of dancing. Mike will serve as the program’s cultural historian, explaining the traditional, handmade costumes and customs. Also, he will play native music on a wooden flute.
Each performance will feature the Dancing Eagles in a first-person narrative of Native American culture. Students and other audience members will be exposed to a different culture, learning the customs and history of Native Americans, particularly the Osage, one of the four major tribes in Arkansas prior to their relocation to Oklahoma.
Public Show Times:
Thursday, November 15: 2:00 pm
Friday, November 16: 2:00 pm
Saturday, November 17: 11:30 am; 1:00 pm; 3:00 pm
Tribal Trails is made possible in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council.

Big Boo!-seum Bash

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Have a HOWLING GHOUL TIME at the 17th Annual Big BOO-seum Bash.

Visitors can start at any of the eight participating museums:

  • Central High School National Historic Site
  • Clinton Presidential Center
  • Curran Hall Visitors Center
  • Historic Arkansas Museum
  • MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History
  • Mosaic Templars Cultural Center
  • Museum of Discovery
  • Old State House

This FREE Safe and Kid Friendly event promises Story Telling, Trick or Treating, Fun & Games and more! 6-8:30 pm

This year, trick-or-treaters are encouraged to hit as many of the above locations as possible, so that they can enter our free giveaway/drawing for a special gift basket and a flat-screen TV.  Game cards will be provided at all locations, and in order to be entered into these drawings, trick-or-treaters must have their game cards stamped at each location they visit.  To qualify for these drawings, participants will need to visit at least six of the above participating member locations for the special gift basket drawing, and all eight for the grand prize drawing for the flat-screen TV. Winners will be notified at a later date.

Museum of Discovery goes Uncorked tonight

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Charles Morgan and Alex Dietz, who helped build Acxiom from a small Conway business into a global force in data and data management, will serve as honorary chairmen for the 11th Annual Uncorked: The Mad Scientist Mash, a fundraiser for the Museum of Discovery. The event will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m. October 18 at the museum, 500 President Clinton Avenue.

“As kids, Alex and I both were energized by science, technology and math – and that led us to get our degrees in engineering and go on to Acxiom in the early 1970s,” Morgan says. “We think it is critical that more Arkansas youth get the chance to have that same spark ignited, and the Museum of Discovery is the premier institution in our state providing that opportunity in a dynamic, hands-on, interactive environment.”

Guests, ages 21 and older, will be able to explore and experience the almost 90 interactive exhibits and discover the fun of science. There also will be interactive “Mad Scientist” experiments and encounters with the museum’s own live animals.

Tasting stations will include specialty wines and beers courtesy of Glazer’s of Arkansas. A wine pull will provide attendees the opportunity to win bottles of wine, some of which sell for well more than the $20 cost to participate. A silent auction will showcase wine-related items, gift certificates, unique experiences and more. Attendees can park free in the River Market parking deck; the entrance is on Second Street between River Market Avenue and Sherman Street.

This year’s “must have” raffle item will be a $1,000 gift certificate to Kenneth Edwards Fine Jewelers.

Event proceeds benefit the Museum of Discovery’s statewide educational outreach programs.

Morgan joined Acxiom as vice president in 1972, became chief executive officer in 1975, the position he held before retiring in 2008. Dietz joined Acxiom in 1970 and helped set the data product vision for the company, serving many years as Products Division leader before retiring in 2009. They were two of the visionaries who grew the company from 25 employees and $500,000 in annual revenue in the early 1970s to a global footprint with more than 7,500 employees and $1.5 billion in annual revenue when they retired.

“I was always interested in math – and in how things worked,” Dietz said. “It was that interest and curiosity that helped me drive innovation in Acxiom’s products. Charles and I urge all Arkansans who care about our state’s future to support the Museum of Discovery and this enjoyable Uncorked event.”

Event tickets are $100 and can be purchased at http://www.museumofdiscovery.org. For more information, please contact Meredith Poland at mpoland@museumofdiscovery.org or 501-537-3077.

About the Museum of Discovery

Located in Little Rock’s historic River Market District, the Donald W. Reynolds Science Center at the Museum of Discovery is central Arkansas’s premier science, technology and math center. With nearly 90 state-of-the-art interactive exhibits in three galleries focused on health, physical and earth sciences, and a highly trained staff, it is a leading resource for informal science-related education. The Donald W. Reynolds Science Center at the Museum of Discovery’s mission is to ignite a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment.

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation awarded the Museum a $9.2 million grant solely dedicated to the renovation. The money paid for the renovation of 44,000 square feet of existing space, a 6,000 square-foot addition and new exhibits throughout the facility.

Science After Dark: Beer

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Each month, the Museum of Discovery hosts “Science After Dark.” This monthly event is for the grown-ups. Why? Because, science is fun…at any age!

Science After Dark provides visitors the opportunity to have fun and learn about science in a unique setting. Museum educators pick a science-related topic and build an entertaining, interactive evening around it. You never know what will sprout, pop, fizzle, or glow.

Tonight from 6pm to 8pm at the Museum, the focus is on Beer.  The cost if $5 per person or free to Museum members.  (Just one of the many benefits of museum membership, even if you don’t have kids.)

 Come learn about the science of making beer. Why wait till Octoberfest? Here’s what’s in store for you:

 Beer and Pretzels

How is Beer Made?

What makes those designer beers taste the way they do?

Pub Quiz: All Things Beer

Culture of Beer: Social Science and History

Beer Chemistry: Homestyle 

Moon Fest

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Join us September 22 for Moon Fest!

Hosted by the Central Arkansas Astronimcal Society, UALR Physics and Astronomy Dept.,
Museum of Discovery, Central Arkansas Library System Main Branch and Arkansas Studies Institute.

Special guests include Mr. Steve Arnold of the Science Channel’s TV show “Meteorite Men”. He will be appearing at MOD between 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, he will also be joining us on the observing field that evening for telescope views of the Moon

Moon Fest Schedule of Events

9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Museum of Discovery) Construct a Lunar Base Activity for kids, Tinker Shop, Museum of Discovery

1:00 PM to 2:00 PM “Meteorite Man” Steve Arnold lecture in the Museum of Discovery Great Hall (Sponsored by the UALR Physics and Astronomy Department)

2:30 PM to 5:00 PM Meteorite Sales with Steve Arnold in the Museum of Discovery Great Hall

2:30 PM to 4:00 PM “For All Mankind” a documentary film of the Apollo Moon Missions at Arkansas Studies Institute Room 124

3:00 PM to 5:00 PM Making Moon Craters with Dr. Tony Hall at the CALS Main Library Branch Children’s Room

3:00 PM to 6:00 PM Walking the Solar System. Starts outside the front of the Museum of Discovery

7:00 PM to 10:30 PM Lunar Telescope Viewings with members of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society and the UALR Physics and Astronomy Department.
Guest appearance by Mr. Steve Arnold
Parking will be available in the Clinton Library parking lot after 6 PM.

For more information call 537-3074.

Museum of Discovery Hosts a Homecoming

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Museum of Discovery - Little Rock, ARThe Museum of Discovery will host a homecoming reception Saturday, September 15 at 2:00 pm in honor of a restored Japanese friendship doll, Miss Kyoto-shi, originally gifted to the Museum 85 years ago. Only a few such dolls remain in their original locations today.

Guests will have the opportunity to view Miss Kyoto-shi in the Museum’s Great Hall. A Hot Springs Village Japanese-American folk dancing troupe will perform in authentic dress. Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola will welcome everyone. Alan Scott Pate, the foremost authority on antique Japanese dolls in the country, will speak about the history and significance of Japanese Friendship Dolls.

As a way to ease cultural tensions in the 1920s, Japanese Viscount Eiichi Shi-busawa initiated a program to send 58 Japanese Friendship Dolls to American museums and libraries. The best doll makers in Japan were commissioned to produce the dolls. Each doll was 32-33 inches tall and they were dressed in beautiful silk kimonos. Each doll also came with unique accessories. These Japanese friendship dolls represented specific Japanese prefectures, cities or regions. The dolls were sent to libraries and museums throughout the United States.

Miss Kyoto-shi Homecoming ReceptionMiss Kyoto-shi arrived at the Arkansas Museum of Natural History and Antiquities (now the Museum of Discovery) shortly after the museum was founded in 1927. Over the years, a few dolls were lost, but Miss Kyoto-shi remained in Little Rock although she left the museum briefly for an unexplained visit to a private home for several years. In 2011 she was returned to Japan to be restored. The grandson of the original artist lineage that created her agreed to restore her completely free of charge.

The Miss Kyoto-shi homecoming event is funded by the Arkansas Humanities Council, Louisiana-based Acadiana Babes Doll Club, and other private donations.

The Donald W. Reynolds Science Center at the Museum of Discovery’s mission is to ignite a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment. The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation awarded the Museum a $9.2 million grant solely dedicated to the renovation. The money paid for the renovation of 44,000 square feet of existing space, a 6,000 square-foot addition and new exhibits throughout the facility.