Fact Sheet

• iMAS has delivered 28 years of service and educational value to the community.
• iMAS promotes understanding and appreciation for the arts and sciences through exhibitions, cultural events and educational and science outreach programs.
• iMAS is nationally accredited by the American Association of Museums, a professional status held by less than 10% of all museums in the United States. iMAS is the only accredited art and science museum between Corpus Christi and Monterrey, Mexico—and between Laredo and Brownsville.

Service:

• iMAS serves more than 100,000 people annually, including nearly 50,000 schoolchildren, 20,000 winter visitors and other tourists. Outreach exhibits travel to many underserved communities.
• Contributes significantly to McAllen's quality of life and serves as an important educational supplement to our schools.
• Cultural tourism: visitors come from more than 40 states and 10 different countries.
• iMAS target market exceeds 10 million persons who live and/or visit this area each year.

Exhibitions And Collections:

• iMAS provides twelve to eighteen science or art related exhibitions every year.
• iMAS is home to one of the nation's largest Latin American folk art collections.
• iMAS is the only exhibiting facility within a 150-mile radius to house significant geological and paleontological collections relevant to the region.

Bilingual, Education and Access:

• iMAS offers exhibits, programs, and tours in both Spanish and English. Nearly 1,000 volunteers representing all ethnic and socioeconomic groups in the region help make these programs possible.
• iMAS provides guided tours augmented by classroom activities designed to meet state educational goals for students from McAllen. Unguided school tours come from all over the Lower Rio Grande Valley
• iMAS reaches out to under served, low-income communities throughout the Valley through Hands-On!, a traveling science program designed to benefit children in grades K-7 and their families.
• iMAS obtained a $275,000 grant from the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute to focus on the region's unique natural resource: the Rio Grande River. This grant positions iMAS in very select company of other recipients, such as the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural History.
• iMAS is an element in McAllen's quality of life index, and a vital community component in the attraction of business and industry.