Museum-themed mugs, hats, and T-shirts are among the items that will be available at the BSMA's kiosk at the Bradbury. “We also hope to sell items with the Los Alamos National Laboratory logo,” says BSMA secretary KayLinda Crawford. “We are waiting for approval from the Department of Energy to use the LANL trademarked logo.”
New kiosk sells items to benefit STEM education.
Holiday shoppers looking for local gifts this month needn’t look farther than the lobby of the Bradbury Science Museum. That’s where the Bradbury Science Museum Association (BSMA) will set up its moveable kiosk—a gift shop called Gadgets—starting Friday, December 2.
At Gadgets, BSMA volunteers will sell science-themed items including mugs, T-shirts, books, thumb drives, phone chargers, and travel tumblers with the Bradbury Science Museum’s logo. Eventually the BSMA hopes to increase its inventory to include magnets, postcards, note cards, calendars, and more.
“These items were chosen based on surveys asking visitors and Lab employees what they would like to buy,” explains BSMA Secretary KayLinda Crawford, noting that the Bradbury receives more than 80,000 visitors annually and at least 50 percent of those folks expect to find a museum store.
The revenue from the store is expected to be a significant source of funding for the recently formed BSMA, whose primary mission is STEM education outreach into Northern New Mexico. “The museum store will help pay for things like bus transportation for field trips from any school district in Northern New Mexico,” says BSMA Vice President Ryn Herrmann. “For many young students, an organized field trip is their only opportunity to come to the museum and get inspired about a STEM career they might otherwise never imagine.”
In addition to opening a gift shop, the BSMA also plans to provide volunteer opportunities, expand museum outreach, and build support for the museum mission through memberships and donations. As the Bradbury’s nonprofit partner, the BSMA will fill these roles because the museum cannot legally fill these roles itself under its Department of Energy regulations.
