I'm just back from Phoenix where a number of the key players in the new Arizona Experience centennial museum brought each other up to date on the work behind the scenes and planned out the critical steps over the next few months.
One topic came up over and over, in every aspect of the discussions, and that's the importance of education. And it's not just museum planners giving lip service to the education component. There is exciting, innovative thinking about how to turn the traditional staid museum visit into an integral component of the curricula for K-20 students, while also offering a memorable experience to everyone else.
The fund raising team is not having a difficult time selling this concept to potential donors. In fact, we heard that education is the top priority of many of the heavy hitters. They want to see how the museum experience can be translated into kids getting excited about science, technology, and other professional areas and seeing opportunities there.
In the coming weeks and months, we will see more of this vision for the Arizona Experience being elaborated and coming out publicly.