Tech student from Calico Rock named Volunteer of the Year

CALICO ROCK — Allen Crawford of Calico Rock, a sophomore at Arkansas Tech University, has been named the Arkansas Museums Association’s Outstanding Volunteer of the Year at the AMA annual conference at Historic Washington State Park near Hope.

Crawford volunteered to redesign the educational programming for the Calico Rock Museum & Visitor Center in 2016. Under Crawford’s leadership, the museum saw an increase in attendance and an infusion of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) in the museum’s programs.

One of Crawford’s designed programs, Cannon Wars, taught students in grades four through eight about the Civil War and how cannons were its primary weapon. Crawford helped the students build their own marshmallow gun from PVC pipe, which, he explained, had about the same accuracy as a cannon.

Crawford gave tours to visitors, organized the museum’s collections software, and researched and fabricated an exhibit on the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Crawford was recently admitted into the nursing program at ATU for fall 2017. A graduate of Calico Rock High School, Crawford was an active member of the student body and volunteered throughout the community. Crawford is an active member of Calico Rock Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

The Arkansas Museums Association counts among its active members the Clinton Presidential Center, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Museum of Discovery, the Old Independence Regional Museum and all of the museums in the statepark system.

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