We have an artist on staff who worked for a large company that designed
and then fabricated for zoos and aquariums. We have been able to sell his
services, first to another museum and then to a local indian tribe here
in AZ.

This artist could certainly make a lot more money if he worked directly with
other organizations but he prefers to work through us to both, retain his
benifits and to have a larger safety net should the project go sour.

We have done this twice in recent years and does provide us with some
small income. This artist essentially works for the contracting
organization for the duration of the project. We have not aggresively
tried to land additional contracts because I feel that this sort of work
does not adequately fulfill our mission and except for a few bucks has no
lasting benifit to us. I would rather have staff working on projects that
will impact our institution more directly.

These project have nothing to do with us as a science center. They just
happen to tap the talents of one particular staff member. Other science
centers do however, sell services closely related to their mission,
producing 'exhibits for sale' for example.

Joe Ruggiero
Flandrau Science Center