The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the Franklin Institute and the Exploratorium are some of the most respected and renowned science museums in America, and now Mid-America Science Museum can claim to be in the same league as those, as each are nominated for USA Today 10Best science museum in North America.
Nominated against 19 other museums, MASM is an option that people can vote for at the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice 2020 awards. Jim Miller, director of marketing at MASM, said that the entire staff at the museum is honored that the museum has been nominated.
"If you look at the list, it's a pretty exceptional list of science museums," Miller said. "Just to be included with some of these other science centers is huge. A huge accolade for Mid-America," he added
Other nominees are the American Museum of Natural History in New York, Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos, N.M., California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, California Science Center in Los Angeles, Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Field Museum in Chicago, Houston Museum on Natural Science, Museum of Science in Boston, Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, Ore., Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Science Museum on Minnesota in St. Paul and Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Ga.
"Everyone on staff ... we value and deeply appreciate the recognition we've been getting as of late," Miller said.
This is a readers' choice award, so those who visit the 10Best website can vote for their pick for best museum. Voters can vote once a day until voting closes. When the vote is over, the top 10 of the 20 museums will then be ranked based on how many votes they received.
As of Friday, MASM was ranked 11 out of 20. "We need to be in the top 10. We'd love to be No. 1, of course, but it's tough competition," Miller said.
Miller said he first learned about the nomination around two weeks ago when he received an email from USA Today asking for photos to use in the contest. "At first I thought it might be a sales pitch," Miller said. He soon realized it was a legitimate email from USA Today. This let to "a wave of excitement and gratification," he said.
Over the past few years, the museum has seen a number of changes. A renovation, the installation of the skywalk, new galleries, and the Oaklawn Foundation DinoTrek have all come recently, and a new traveling exhibit hall is currently being built. Miller said that all these improvements to the museum likely helped it secure the nomination.
Miller also said that MASM averages 120,000 visitors per year. "We get visitors from all over who value hands-on science," he said.
"We feel we are definitely in the top 10. We all feel like we are continuing to get better as we go along."
Miller also noted that Arkansas is well represented in the 10Best awards. There are currently 15 different categories that are open to votes. The Museum of Native American History in Bentonville is nominated for best history museum. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville is nominated for both best art museum and free museum. The Museum of Discovery in Little Rock is nominated for best children's museum.
"There's a lot of museums (in North America) ... to have four museums in the state of Arkansas goes to show that a lot value -- and there's a lot of support -- for these institutions, and I think that's wonderful," Miller said.
Voting for the awards closes on Feb. 17. The list of categories can be found at https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/.
Local on 01/27/2020