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Some people outgrow their childhood imagination. Others, like artist Anastasia Ward, never do. She brought her imagination, sense of whimsy and passion for the environment, upcycling and creative repurposing of materials to the Scott Family Amazeum as an Artist/Maker in Residence.

Makers are a unique group.

Remember when you gathered in the vacant lot to play? Or scavenged the neighborhood for scraps of lumber, old tires, lengths of rope, cardboard boxes (refrigerator boxes were the best!) and sticks, stones, and other natural materials to build forts, houses, shelters and anything else you could imagine? You don't? Few people do. 

A number of makers called the Scott Family Amazeum home during the first year of the Maker in Residence Program. Each brought a unique brand of creativity to the museum and community. And each influenced thought about creative work at the museum and beyond. Of all the makers who resided at the Amazeum in 2018, the impact of Fayetteville maker Eugene Sargent continues to radiate through the Amazeum and Northwest Arkansas.

The Scott Family Amazeum's Maker in Residence Program introduces talented, creative makers to Northwest Arkansas and the creative culture that already exists in the region.  Makers from across the nation with unique skills, visions, and mindsets find a home at the Amazeum where they become part of the family. Amanda Willshire, the latest Amazeum Maker in Residence, moved in and got to work with the team who supported her with time, talent and tools as she worked on a piece of interactive public art.

This year's Tinkerfest could easily have been a multi-day "Tinker Festival" largely due to the quality and quantity of makers in attendance. The Amazeum's Makers in Residence Program provided the impetus for a whole new level of making and tinkering. Five talented, diverse makers from across the country came to Northwest Arkansas to collaborate with our team, interface with guests and the community. Their presence at our 5th Tinkerfest exponentially raised the creativity level at the Amazeum and in the region.

Creative Collaboration, Cranky Contraptions, and the Rise of Mega-automata Most people who know about automata think about them as small, human-powered contraptions in a box in which gears, cams, levers, and pulleys automate a clever little vignette. At least that was their experience with the Amazeum's exhibition of Curious Contraptions created by Cabaret Mechanical Theater in London, England. However, the latest Amazeum Maker in Residence, Ryan Jenkins, thinks automata can be so much more. And bigger, way, way bigger.

Building a Creative Community by Making a MousetrapThe Amazeum hosted Mark Perez, Rose Hardin and their troupe of builder/performers - "fungineers"- as part the Maker in Residence Program funded by the Walton Family Foundation. This program is designed to bring national and regional makers together to support creating experiences at the intersection of science, technology, engineering and art. "The idea behind this is to be able to bring in incredibly creative people to infuse great ideas into the Amazeum and our community," Amazeum Executive Director Sam Dean says.

The Scott Family Amazeum team is working with Kua Patten to develop ideas to add to the Tinkerfest experience and to the museum itself later this year.