The 3W Podcast
From the people that bring you 3W Magazine, welcome to the 3W Podcast! We aim to serve our community by promoting awareness of Northwest Arkansas’ thriving philanthropic movement; To provide a guide of dates to help coordinate events so every nonprofit gets the coverage they need and deserve; To give financially to local charities each year.
The 3W Podcast
The 3W Podcast: Scott Family Amazeum - Part 1
What happens when play and education combine? Magic. In this celebration of the Scott Family Amazeum's 10th birthday, Holland Hayden reveals the extraordinary journey of Northwest Arkansas's beloved children's museum that has welcomed over 2 million visitors since opening its doors.
We dive into the exciting plans for their 10th birthday bash on Saturday, July 12, including water balloon catapults, bubble labs and a special 10-obstacle STEAM course throughout the museum. The celebration features a performance by award-winning singer-songwriter Shannon Wurst, who will debut the Amazeum's refreshed end-of-day parade song — a thoughtfully designed experience that helps transition excited children from play to departure through music, movement and joy.
Whether you're a longtime fan or have never visited before, this milestone event offers the perfect opportunity to experience the wonder, creativity and innovation that have made the Scott Family Amazeum a treasured part of our community. Join us in celebrating a decade of making learning an adventure!
Hey everybody, welcome back to The 3W Podcast. I'm your host, Kasie Yokley. Per the usual, I have a really great friend here with me today, Holland Hayden with the Amazeum. Hello, and welcome back to Holland. Oh, thank you for having me again, Kasie. I think it's been like a year since Holland was here. Too long, too long because she's like super fun. But we're going to try and wrap this part one up in 30 minutes and then we'll come back for part two because we have so many fun things to talk about. But first, Holland, remind everyone who you are and what you do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm Holland Hayden. I'm with the Scott Family Amazeum and I'm the Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications. Family Amazeum and I'm the Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications. So I deal with everything from advertising to website to social, to all the fun PR. It's a great job. It is fun because you get to tinker.
Speaker 1:I do.
Speaker 2:And I work kid adjacent, yes. So that's really fun because I get to enjoy all the kids at the Scott Family Amazeum, but it's not an everyday thing.
Speaker 1:Right, I couldn't do the everyday hands-on. I couldn't either. But you can like tinker on your own. Yes, and bless those who do. I know right. Thank you for that. Jewels in their crowns like educators I'm so early. Yes, they are educators.
Speaker 2:Definitely.
Speaker 1:We're a learning organization, absolutely 10 years.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a big one.
Speaker 1:Happy birthday. This is going to come out Friday before the big birthday bash. Yes, which is why we're here. Yeah, so happy birthday Amnesium.
Speaker 2:Thank you, and we've been celebrating all year. We're celebrating throughout the year because it's a huge milestone To say we've come from a field in northwest Arkansas to seeing over 2 million guests. That's been 10 years is unbelievable.
Speaker 1:It is unbelievable. And what were these statistics? I was reading um hundreds of thousands of students.
Speaker 2:Yes, unforgettable for unfield trips. Yeah, because we can't just do a field trip. No, I was like what is this unforgettable?
Speaker 1:yeah, it's not a word I would normally say, but it's well, it is unforgettable. It is, but it's the.
Speaker 2:Unfield Trip yes, the Unfield Trip. Yeah, we've literally seen over 100,000 students since they've come. How crazy is that? It's really remarkable. It's remarkable and, honestly, it's a great amenity for anybody in Northwest Arkansas, for schools in Northwest Arkansas and beyond.
Speaker 1:I mean, we have people come from Little Rock and Joplin and Springfield to bring their students to the Amazeum, which is so wonderful, yeah, and it's so inexpensive. I was tinkering on the website today and it only costs. Now it's not assessed to the kids, but an internal cost is only $24 a kid for an unfield trip. Right, like that is so expensive. Yes, yes, how that's so low.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean we've done a lot of great fundraising around it and have some wonderful community partners that have helped really establish that program and make it what it is. But it's such a different kind of field trip it is. That's why the field comes in there. Very important, but it is. It's great to be able to to reach out to these kids that might not have a chance to come in any other capacity.
Speaker 1:Right, because you do. Well, we're going to touch on all that, all the things, because I'm going to like, hop around. Sure, that's it. That's okay, let's talk about Saturday.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Saturday July 12th yes, yeah, and then on 10?
Speaker 2:All day, all day, so for member hour starts at 9 am, that's right and for the general public starts at 10.
Speaker 1:Okay, all the way till five. So you're right, I wasn't making the 10 up, but I tend to make lots of on the regular girl same, don't worry about that.
Speaker 2:Make it. Yeah, exactly no, it's all day. It is part of our just regular admission. So 12 online, 14 at the door. But if you bring a 10-year-old, they are free with a paying adult or somebody who's over the age of two.
Speaker 1:Yes, I love it. I'm like a 10-year-old is free Because, think about it, they're 10. They were born with the Amazeum.
Speaker 2:They have grown up with the Amazeum and we have kids that have visited, including my own. Henry has visited every single year since it opened. I've had memberships for many, many years and to be able to look back and say, look, how far we've come with an actual 10 year old and see oh, my goodness pictures.
Speaker 1:I'm not a good picture person but um to have you know like the memories.
Speaker 2:You've done some of that too, where we've taken some older photos and recreated them with the kids now this year and their ages now, and it is really nice to see that like leap through time.
Speaker 1:I love that what's the prices do we have in store.
Speaker 2:So we're going to do all things water, lots of bubbles, but then we also have some other fun stuff.
Speaker 1:It's OK, let's talk about a bubble and light lab making massive bubbles and exploring light and color play. Yeah, I would love to just hang out on that ramp. I think that we should. Yes, I think that we should, because on down it goes to steam, which I think is amazing, but that makes my brain hurt sometimes. So I want to hang out with the bubble.
Speaker 2:Well, to be fair, you're doing steam with the bubbles too. I mean, you know it's science. It's how we bring science into everyday. Amazing Kids learn better through learning or to play every day amazing. Kids learn better through learning or to play. So learn through learning, obviously, but yes, they learn so much faster by playing.
Speaker 1:So that's what we're doing. It's a lot of like sneaky signs yeah, they don't know, they're learning Right, which is amazing. That's where I need to be. I need to know, I'm learning.
Speaker 2:No, just having a good time. And then you're starting to think about well, how does this happen? This happen, and you know, our play facilitators are really good about asking those probing questions, those open-ended questions like well, how do you think that happened again? Skills I don't have.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I love that.
Speaker 2:I don't I don't think like that, not wired like that, so I love that somebody can do that for a kid, yeah absolutely, and it's not necessarily leading them, but it's more of a giving them a little bit so that they can make a jump for themselves or go. Oh, I didn't consider that, yeah. Yeah, I mean of course, bubbles are science.
Speaker 1:Yes, of course you know, but to me they're just fun. He's just fun, yeah, okay. And then we have the water Wonder Zone Splashy fun with water balloon catapults, oh yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:We enjoy a catapult at the Amazeum. We enjoy a trebuchet, we enjoy a catapult, we enjoy all the things that fling yes, which goes with the zing, zing, fling. We even have one of those later in the year. That's too funny. But yeah, I mean again, it's going to be lots of fun with water and I would definitely bring a change of clothes For sure. Definitely bring a change of clothes.
Speaker 1:Hopefully it won't be raining, because I feel like all it does is storm. In Northwest Arkansas is rain, and I've talked about it on every podcast we've launched. I've already put in a few calls, okay good, we're good on July 12th Okay awesome. That's important. Thank you, because I'm really ready for the drought. Yeah, I'm good with that as well. Okay, talk about the power of 10 obstacle course. This sounds really interesting, even though you've got the big giant steam warden in it for me. Take on 10 fast-paced steam challenges around the museum, uh-huh absolutely.
Speaker 2:And and we're not revealing all these obstacles yet because it sounds like double dare but next level it is kind of like that. It I promise there won't be like slime or anything, but there's water, there's water, so it'll be the same thing. Yeah, I mean honestly, we're just trying to get kids and adults outside of their comfort zone and a lot of times that's with a challenge, and an obstacle course is a great challenge because it gets your body moving. You know it's these big gross movements, um, and then they're able to maybe do these big fun obstacle course and then go focus on something smaller. Is that indoor, outdoor, we have all over the museum that day?
Speaker 1:celebration features a live performance by award-winning singer-songwriter shannon worse. From three to five, you all are debuting the Amazings brand new end of day song which I assume goes with the end of the day parade.
Speaker 2:You are 100% correct. I've been very fortunate to be able to be on this project and to be able to work with Shannon Wurst to create a new song. So we've had the same end of day song and parade song for 10 years. It's served us incredibly well. Shannon Wurst created the original one, oh, so we worked with her again to do an updated one. It feels familiar but it's a bit of a refresh.
Speaker 1:Do people, does everybody know there's an end of day? No, of course not. I've never been there at the end of day?
Speaker 2:Of course not, but you know what's really great for the end of day? Of course not, but you know what's really great for the end of day? It's especially those kids that are that want to stay Right. They want to stay and you know the tears are starting to come, but then this is like a fun way to get them involved. We're going to pick things up, put them away. That's our first song, that's the theme of the first song, and then it's that parade to get them excited, going through the museum. We have little scarves that they get to do and even sometimes bang on the drum, and then that way it's not necessarily a bye, it's a see you later.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, this is so great because I've never been there at the end of the day, so I thought this was brand new. So it's reinvented.
Speaker 2:It's reinvented and it's really been a lot of fun. You know we've included some Spanish. We've included some different choreography, different things. It's going to really stand out to people. It has a little bit of a fun twang this time. It's great. It's been a fun project. I cannot wait for her to debut it. What was that process like?
Speaker 1:I know nothing about music, do you?
Speaker 2:A bit. My mom is a singer-songwriter. I've kind of grown up in that, oh my gosh. But every singer-songwriter is different and their process is different, and so I was really trying to figure out her process and say here's what we want to do, here's the goal. The goal is just a refresh, but we want to incorporate a couple more things. We also have a really big challenge in our space because it's large and things reverberate and you know where our ceilings are. Sometimes it's odd, so we had to pay very close attention to the mix with that. So, okay, we need a lot more vocals, we need to pull this back. We need less trumpets, we need more guitar.
Speaker 1:I literally don't think like that. This is awesome, it's been fun. How long has this portion been?
Speaker 2:We've been working on it for a number of months now. Okay, so there have been a number of iterations, and then we'll listen to it and go okay, that works. But what if we tried this Because we're incredibly intentional at the Amazeum? It's not just about play, it's about learning through play, it's about a pedagogy, our whole philosophy of learning, and where we put importance, and we apply that to everything, including the song.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. And Shannon did the first one, she did the first one.
Speaker 2:So we had that day one because we knew that that was going to be a challenge for parents, especially at the end of the day when kids are tired and they're done but they don't want to leave. So, intentionality, it's really a nice thing to do and it really helps. You know, yeah, you'll still see a couple upset but absolutely honestly, it probably knocks out, I'd say, 75% of those, those tantrums that might happen, because we're doing something together, they're still involved and then before they know it, they're outside.
Speaker 1:It's hilarious. Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2:I didn't even know, so she's going to be performing From 3 to 5. From 3 to 5. Because she is a prolific songwriter, does a lot of performing in Northwest Arkansas. She's been part of, like, the Gully Park concert series, so she's going to be performing and then we're going to also be debuting the song.
Speaker 1:So where are you putting her? Where is her setup going to be?
Speaker 2:Oh, to be honest, I think it's outside. Okay, perfect, so it'll be outside, and then we'll be able to walk through with her and she's going to be part of the parade. Oh, this is fantastic. Oh, this is fantastic. She'll be our first grade leader.
Speaker 1:Oh, even better. I hope she has all kinds of.
Speaker 2:Oh I have no doubt she does. She'll look like a drum major. I don't know. I don't know. I will ask her. It sounds good yeah.
Speaker 1:I like it, I love it. What have we not talked about? This one is short and sweet. Everybody yeah.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:I mean honestly, it's a huge birthday party. I'm sure it's go, go, go the second you walk in the door with yeah, there'll be so many activities and activities, obviously, photo opportunities.
Speaker 2:We're going to have some snacks here and there until they run out, I believe some ice cream from Highland Dairy, perfect. So you know, to help you on those hot days, because it's not going to rain no, it's not, it's going to be real hot and dry. It will be and it'll be lovely. And it also gives people a chance that they haven't been in for a long time to see our latest exhibition, to hear more about our expansion, to look and see at their favorite exhibits and see what's new. If we've changed something, you have changed things. Of course we do. We change things All the time, we definitely do. So use it as an excuse to come in Like, hey, you know what? I don't have to pay for my 10-year-old Right, so I might as well take them.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I love it and it'll get them in the air conditioning.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and they'll get to hear some new music. They'll be able to test out all of our spaces and have lots of fun. I'll be so great. I'm excited about it and I'm really looking forward to it.
Speaker 1:Wait, I can't wait okay, that wraps up part one. Thank you of all hours. So much hope to see you. I have for sure, stick around for part two, but don't forget amazeum's 10-year big birthday bash, saturday, july 12, 9 am and 10 am, all the way till five, with a special end of day parade happening just before five o'clock with a new song. So don't forget, shout out to Hershey Salty Snacks. They are the 3W Podcast presenting sponsor. Definitely need Dot's Homestyle Pretzels. Skinny Pop of Pirate Booty yes, please, a staple, a staple in my house, for sure, everywhere, right. So, yes, shout out to them, thank. Skinny pop of pirate booty yes, please, a staple, a staple in my house, for sure, everywhere, right. So, yes, shout out to them. Thank you so much, and that's all we have for right now, for part one. But keep inspiring a culture of giving. See y'all bye.