FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – While she may be cool and calm as she prepares for the opening of a new museum at the University of Arkansas, the little girl in Lynne Hehr is jumping up and down with excitement.

Hehr’s stock in trade is hands-on learning in science and math, and the new museum, the University of Arkansas Discovery Zone, set to open in Fayetteville in partnership with the Arkansas Discovery Network, enhances her mission of providing such learning experiences for K-12 students and teachers.

The museum will be open to the public beginning Monday, Aug. 31. Because the hours will be limited until the school year gets into full swing, call 479-575-3875 for more details. Several events are planned for next week following a ribbon-cutting and reception on Monday, Aug. 24:

• Tuesday, Aug. 25, 4 to 6 p.m., KidsQuest drop-in for Arkansas Discovery Network KidsQuest members (to register, e-mail lhehr@uark.edu)

• Thursday, Aug. 27, 3:30 to 6 p.m., open house for teachers

• Friday, Aug. 28, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., open for University of Arkansas students and faculty

Since 1994, Hehr has directed the university’s Center for Math and Science Education, now based in the College of Education and Health Professions, one of 12 such STEM (science, engineering, technology and math) education centers in the state. Because northwest Arkansas doesn’t have a science museum, the center became a player in the Arkansas Discovery Network, a statewide museum collaborative, established in 2006 by a five-year, $7.3 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

“Providing quality education outreach to the K-12 education community – educators and students alike – is the first and foremost mission of the center,” Hehr said. “Whether through the Northwest Arkansas Regional Science and Engineering Fair, University Days, year-round professional development for teachers, or field, lab and classroom experiences for students, our goal is to inspire lifelong learning for all ages.”

With 3 ½ years of exhibitions from the Arkansas Discovery Network called Arkansas Museum Road Trip to begin in late summer, there was a great need for a permanent place for viewing on or near the campus. In the past, space was rented from the Walton Arts Center to show exhibits such as Grossology, Good Vibrations and the Mystery of the Mayan Medallion. Hehr discussed this need for having a more permanent exhibition space on the University of Arkansas campus with Chancellor G. David Gearhart.

Within a week, an abandoned commercial building at 1564 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., property purchased by the university one block west of the edge of campus proper at MLK Boulevard and Razorback Road, was suggested as a possible location. 

“Lynne Hehr and the Center for Math and Science Education have built and maintained strong relationships with Arkansas schools, educators and students, helping them access resources the University of Arkansas can offer,” Gearhart said. “The university is privileged to be a player in filling the region’s need for a science museum. It fits well into our mission as a land-grant institution serving the state of Arkansas. And, we are doubly excited to be partnering with a program supported so generously by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.”

The museum will be free and open to the public. Groups of 10 or more should call 479-575-3875 to make reservations. Hehr said the museum property has room for buses to drop off children, parking and easy access to main thoroughfares.

“It will help school groups plan a full day’s outing at the university,” she said, “with a visit here, lunch, and a tour of the campus or visiting other UA outreach sites.”

“This all happened very quickly,” she continued, “and it demonstrates to the Reynolds Foundation, the scientific and museum community, and the rest of the state that the University of Arkansas is committed to providing quality educational opportunities for children, their teachers and the public in general.

“There aren’t enough words to tell you what this means to me,” Hehr said. “The Center for Math and Science Education is now able to provide both informal and formal education opportunities to students, teachers and the public. This ‘zone of discovery’ will offer museum-quality exhibits and education opportunities at no charge, completing the center’s vision of encouraging lifelong learning.”

For nearly 20 years, Hehr has served as a link between K-12 science, mathematics and technology education and the University of Arkansas research community. The Center for Math and Science Education, which is housed in the university’s West Avenue Annex, is also home to the Arkansas NASA Educator Resource Center that Hehr directs. She and her staff work with the Arkansas Department of Education and the Arkansas Department of Higher Education to provide materials, resources and access to university personnel for students and educators, as well as professional development for kindergarten through university pre-service and in-service teachers. Hehr also directs outreach events for the university, including the Northwest Arkansas Regional Science and Engineering Fair and University Days, two days of K-12 student and teacher activities in research labs and campus classrooms.

In the course of her work with the university, Hehr has served as principal investigator, co-principal investigator or partner on more than $10 million in grant-funded projects. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Indiana University and both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geology from the University of Arkansas.

John Hehr and Doy Zachry, professors of geosciences, along with Lynne Hehr have created the first exhibit that will open the new museum – Arkansas Road Trip: Arkansas Rocks, Rivers and Roadcuts. The exhibit focuses on major geologic features of Arkansas and the processes that shaped and are still shaping the state’s landscape today.

Part of the network’s Arkansas Museum Road Trip, the exhibit is also designed to encourage viewers to travel around the state to see other features not found in their home area. Maps will show various topographic features including rocks and mineral resources, seismic events and possibilities of recurrence, caves and karst topography, stream development, and erosion and deposits that shape the land. The exhibit ties in with Arkansas science curriculum frameworks at multiple grade levels.

Traveling with the Arkansas Rocks, Rivers and Roadcuts exhibit is the Magic Planet, a digital video globe. Some of the images to be programmed on the sphere include global patterns of weather, earthquake and volcanic zones and tectonic shifts. These global features relate to past, present and future features found in Arkansas.

After sixth months, the exhibit will begin its travels among the network’s other member museums: the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs, Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas in Pine Bluff, Texarkana Museum System in Texarkana, Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover and Arkansas State University Museum in Jonesboro.

Exhibits from the other museums, Backyard Science, Newton’s Corner, Illusion Confusion, Astronomy – It’s a Blast, GPS Adventures Arkansas and Exploring the Frontier will be brought, one at a time, to the new museum in Fayetteville with each staying for approximately six months.