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OUR <br />Voted "Best Museum in <br />Orange County" by readers <br />of the Orange County <br />Register newspaper for 26 <br />consecutive years (2019). <br />Annual budget increased <br />from $1.5 million in 1989 to <br />$6.5 million today. <br />Membership growth from <br />200 members in 1991 to <br />over 7,000 today. <br />Facility increased in size <br />from original 10,080 <br />square -feet to over 100,000 <br />square -feet today. <br />Staff has grown from 38 in <br />1989 to 85 today. <br />Volunteer corps of more <br />than 300 individuals <br />contributes between <br />40,000 and 50,000 hours <br />each year. <br />Developed and opened <br />in 1994 an 11,000-square <br />foot children's museum <br />subsequently named <br />Kidseum celebrated its 25th <br />anniversary in 2019. <br />Since 1992, presented <br />more than 70 special <br />exhibitions from around <br />the world including <br />exhibitions that have <br />traveled both nationally <br />and internationally. <br />Negotiated exhibition <br />protocols with Colombia, <br />Taiwan, China, Italy, Israel, <br />Great Britain, Mexico <br />and Ethiopia. <br />Served more than <br />80,000 school children <br />annually through docent <br />guided tours, community <br />outreach programs, and <br />participatory art classes. <br />Hosted numerous <br />academic symposia <br />covering a wide range <br />of topics including <br />Former Secretary of <br />State Madeleine Albright <br />and Renowned Egyptian <br />Archaeologist <br />Dr. Zahi Hawass. <br />Published many books, <br />monographs, and exhibition <br />catalogues, including Tribute <br />to the Gods, Treasures of <br />the Museo del Oro, Bogota, <br />Colombia, Visions of <br />Guadalupe: Selections from <br />the Museum of the Basilica <br />de Guadalupe; Guardians <br />of the Life Stream; Seeking <br />Immortality, Partners in <br />Illusion; Contemporary <br />Netsuke; Jade: Ch'ing Dynasty <br />Treasures from the National <br />Museum of History, Taiwan; <br />Beethoven: Musical Treasures <br />from the Age of Revolution and <br />Romance; Shamans, Gods & <br />Mythic Beast: Colombian Gold <br />and Ceramics in Antiquity and <br />Secret World of the Forbidden <br />City: Splendors from China's <br />Imperial Palace; Queen of <br />Sheba; Mummies: Death and <br />the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, <br />Egyptian Treasures of the <br />British Museum; Mummies of <br />the British Museum; Treasures <br />from Shanghai: 5000 Years of <br />Chinese Art and Culture; Terra <br />Cotta Warriors: Guardians of <br />China's First Emperor; Secrets of <br />the Silk Road; Sacred Gold: Pre - <br />Hispanic Art of Colombia; and <br />Legacy of Bounty., Paintings <br />from the Bowers Museum. <br />The Bowers Museum was <br />recognized in the July 1993 <br />issue of U.S. News & World <br />Report as one of nine <br />,'must see" museums in <br />the United States. <br />