This is my proposal for a science and history museum that would be centralized at the

University of Arkansas and would be constructed and operated under the joint guidelines of both
the UofA and the city of Fayetteville.
I would like to begin by saying the University of Arkansas is a wonderful provider of
education and has been a symbol of pride for Fayetteville and the rest of Arkansas in its nearly
142 years of existence. Over the last decade, you have remained in the top 500 best universities
in America. And in particular, the Science oriented sectors are national known and respected.
Out of 2,618 universities in America that offer math and science degrees, The UofA has
consistently ranked in the top 150 math and science schools in the country.
With such a strong basis in science and technologies, as well as being an innovative and
progressive school as the UofA is, I feel confident that this proposal for a University of Arkansas
Science and History Museum will not go un-noticed. As an educational institution, I am sure
providing the best opportunities and resources for your students, and even for the youth of the
surrounding community, is a priority that is taken very seriously by your institution and does so
by opening itself to suggestions and appeals from the community it represents.
Education is one of the primary resources that we strive to provide for our children and
young adults and the knowledge and tools we leave behind for them to direct their interests and
dreams come in many different forms. The one form I am addressing in this proposal is
Museums. By definition, a museum is a building, place, or institution devoted to the acquisition,
conservation, study, exhibition, and educational interpretation of objects having scientific,
historical, or artistic value. Our community of Fayetteville, however, has few of these.
In our collective possession, we have the Clinton House located on campus, and the
Arkansas Air museum located at Drake Field. As fortunate and appreciative as we are for these
fine establishments, I am proposing us, as a community, partner with the university and provide
an educational museum within our area that concentrates mainly on science and history. In
todays society, science and technology are necessary in most factions of our modern age such as
medicine, computers, archeology, and preservation. The importance of us providing our youth
with the means to gain interest in these fields, and many more, becomes higher with every year
we advance in this technological direction that we are currently advancing. With history being a
record of events, as of the life or development of a people or institution, often including an
explanation of those events, it becomes critical in understanding the people, places, things, and
events that assisted us in obtaining knowledge of where we are in the world and how we made it
here.
A Science and History museum could provide us with so much discovery and knowledge
and could be home to a plethora of instruments and objects of science, past and present. Just
imagine how it would be for a student or child to be looking upon one of Teslas electro-inspired
instruments or maybe the hand-written ramblings of one Albert Einstein. I remember as a child,
standing next to the fossilized bones of a Brachiosaurus and being absolutely speechless and
amazed or my friends and I placing our hands upon a metal sphere and watching our hair stand
on end. These memories and inspirations stay with us for the rest of your lifes and spark a wild
fire of imagination and thought as well as inspire a new generation of scientists providing us with
a new era of technology, medicine, and global preservation.
One objection to such an idea would be the financial aspects of where the money to fund
such a project would come from. To this I respond that with the community of Fayetteville as
well as the university cooperating as a whole in making this project happen, funding could be
found from many different sources such as government funding and public and private
donations. If a plan could be composed showing every aspect of construction, budget, funding,
and positive implications for the community, many businesses and citizens would consider being
investors and by making it a part of the university, we could open it up to many possibilities for
students participating in many related fields of study.
In closing I would like to state that as the years advance upon us, we grow ever bigger
and are beginning to merge with surrounding communities such as Springdale, Rogers, and
Bentonville.. This isnt necessarily a negative thing for all great communities grow. But with
such great expansion comes an even greater reason to show communal dignity and pride and
demonstrate that Fayetteville, AR is a diverse and progressive community and has become an
innovator in education and progressive in unity. I believe with right support, this could be a great
addition to the already great diversity of institutions within the great city of Fayetteville.