Stockton Amazed by Museum Opportunity

Being in on the ground level of something big is unlike anything else.

It’s a unique circumstance with a unique set of challenges, and with the work, the decisions, and the trials of creating an infrastructure, it has its own distinct brand of stress and excitement.

As membership manager for the Amazeum, the children’s museum under construction in Bentonville, Amy Stockton, along with her colleagues, is going through the paces of making something from scratch.

Still working out of a temporary office, still pursuing the membership goal, and with the grand opening just months away, Stockton is under the gun and feeling the crunch.

And that’s why she took the job. With 20 years of nonprofit fundraising and organizing under her belt, it’s time to put it all on the line for the Amazeum, which just might transform children’s education in Northwest Arkansas.

“I feel so fortunate,” Stockton said. “I’m excited to be here.”

In her current position since July, Stockton’s job is to connect with the parents and grandparents of the children who are going to play and learn at the museum, and to secure their support in the form of an annual membership. 

So far, Amazeum has about 700 members, more than half of which are from Benton County. The goal, Stockton said, is to have an ongoing membership of about 3,000 from across the entire region.

In speaking with families, Stockton said her message has not fallen on deaf ears.

“People needed to have a chance to jump on board,” she said. “It’s almost overwhelming because this area is so hungry for something like this.”

Benefits of membership include discounts, early camp registrations, guest passes, and advance ticket sales for fundraisers and events. A basic membership costs as little as $95, while a premium membership can cost as much as $1,000.

In addition to the people who are already here, Stockton is fielding inquiries from those who are about to move to the region. And even if they don’t live here yet, they’re ready to support the museum and call it their own.

“It’s a point of pride,” Stockton said.

The Amazeum is planned as a destination for children and families where, according to the museum, “Everything is hands-on and designed to be touched, climbed on, and interacted with.”

Fashioned as a mix between art and science, the Amazeum is primarily geared toward children between the ages of 4 and 8. The facility, however, can entertain and educate toddlers as well as kids in elementary and middle school.

Set to open this summer, the Amazeum will feature a 45,500-SF interior and 1 acre of outdoor space at its grounds near Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Amazeum is loosely modeled on the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the Explora in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the Thinkery in Austin.

Having spent her entire career in nonprofits, Stockton has experience working with diverse groups dating back to 1995, when she was an academic adviser at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Her last stop before arriving at the Amazeum was the Endeavor Foundation, where she was vice president for programs and community partnerships.

“One of the things I’ve loved with all my jobs is making relationships,” she said.

In 2002, when Stockton was executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas, she was named to the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s Forty Under 40.

At some point in the past, Stockton, 44, and a mother of three, thought about the for-profit world and even went so far as to ask around about corporate jobs. 

“But I just couldn’t picture it,” she said. “Nonprofit is just my kind of niche. I like the people it attracts and the work you get to do.”

She plans on staying at the Amazeum for the foreseeable future, and as the facility opens and is established, Stockton expects plenty of challenges to arise. But that’s OK. Since July she’s solved plenty of problems, and isn’t scared to solve a few more.

“It’s been new and fun,” she said.