Bring History to Life with #MoreUARKMuseum

Want to see more of the University of Arkansas Museum? So do we! Learn about us, our goals, and how your contributions can make a difference so give today!

Dino here! The University of Arkansas Museum’s dinosaur-in-residence is back again to spread the word about a new funding initiative! Help us bring history to life with #MoreUARKMuseum!

In 2023, you helped us raise over $5,000 to purchase exciting new supplies to increase and enhance our impact in the community. We are returning on April 10^th, 2025, to raise $5,000 in support of the Museum’s new tour guide program. Our goal is to make it easier for everyone to interact with the Museum’s collections and benefit from what it has to offer. Together, we hope to see #MoreUARKMuseum.

Established in the 1870s, the University of Arkansas Museum has a highly varied collection of over 7.5 million artifacts representing the fields of archeology, art, geology, history, and zoology. 

In 2002, the Museum was moved into a collection storage facility at 2471 N Hatch Ave. Although we no longer have a traditional public exhibit space, the Museum continues its long tradition of preserving and sharing cultural and natural history through active research, education, and outreach.
 

The Museum hosts programs throughout the year for everyone in the NWA community. 

These include pop-up experiences featuring the collections, class-produced exhibitions on campus and at local libraries, fun activities for U of A students to channel their creativity, summer camps, special open house experiences, and collections tours.

The Museum’s New Tour Guide Program

Last September, the Museum established a volunteer tour guide program. While tours are not new or unique to the U of A Museum, the program itself is new. The goal of the program is to make tours more accessible by having campus and Northwest Arkansas community members actively involved in leading these offerings. There are eleven guides in the 2024-25 cohort, comprised of U of A students, U of A employees, and local community members.

The program provides an avenue for community members to explore the world of museums, build a community amongst themselves and those they meet on tours, and gain skills both relevant for careers in cultural and natural heritage organizations but translatable to other career fields and life generally, such as communication and leadership. The program’s establishment and continued growth is also a dedicated goal within the Museum’s 5-year strategic plan.

Want to meet the tour guides and explore the collections? Book a tour today!

The Museum sparks wonder, curiosity, and has the potential to lead to new scientific discoveries. 

From archeologists investigating ancient plant domestication in the region to a UARK alumna publishing and describing a brand-new dinosaur species, Arkansaurus fridayi, to an Honors College senior building an ancient Roman timeline of artifacts, the research possibilities are endless! Specimens and artifacts are available for research and exhibition purposes by faculty, students, and scholars around the world. 

The Museum also benefits K-12 and university students by providing class visits, summer programs, and learning materials to local schools. Engaging with artifacts promotes a life-long love of learning! 

Staff also partner with local educators to engage their students with the collections. This includes class field trips to the University Collections Facility and special activities utilizing collection materials both on-site and in the classroom. Throughout the year, UARK students also gain valuable hands-on experience through internships, work-study positions, and volunteering. 

The Museum’s new tour guide program was established in fall 2024. Help the guides bring history to life!

Your support will fund new visual aids and interactive, touchable materials for tour experiences, enhance tour guide training opportunities, and support a new part-time program manager to increase much needed staff time for coordinating the program and increasing its impact.

Over 1800 visitors toured the Museum in 2024 across 68 tours. We aim to surpass that and provide at least 80 tours this year. Every $63 gifted will support one tour toward that goal.