Let the pieces fit together naturally and
let them grow the way they please.
They are now a force of creation and you
will be blessed by miracles of natural flow.
When the flow became a flood
A vessel of exile came to assemble,
An ark of kinetic art to
Float us to the next location.
Join Us This Year For “How To Build An Ark.”
It’s the time of year when Mat Bevel Company hosts our annual fundraiser. This year our theme is ‘How To Build An Ark.’ The Ark symbolizes the future. Building an ark is building for the future, carrying the good through the bad. The future belongs to creation. Starting building, and you’ll feel the flow.
We offer all of our two world-building programs for free to the communities we serve thanks to the support of people like you! Please consider making a gift this June to help us achieve our goals for the 2025-2026 year:
- Continue to build and market the new Welcome To Beveldom online portal to global audiences. A unique curation of an artist’s lifelong body of work, this portal aims to inspire us all to dive in and benefit from nature’s flow.
- Develop a motorized Kinetic Butterfly kit to encourage us to use our natural constructor skills!
- Finalize all four student final projects for The Universe Within STEAM world-building curriculum so that models are both beautiful and functional as part of scaling the program.
- Develop an AI-powered Learning Assistant for all four units of The Universe Within based on the four 100+ page Guidebooks.
- Expand The Universe Within into new venues in Santa Cruz, Cochise and Pima Counties.
- Fabricate, source and market Kinetic STEAM kits for The Universe Within as part of scaling the program to serve more students and generate earned income to sustain the program. (We’ll always fundraise for scholarships for those in need.)
Build an ark with us. Make a donation in any amount to support our two programs listed below. Please support our mission and share it with your friends and family, too!
Welcome To Beveldom
Welcome To Beveldom is a journey into the “lost land of found-objects” that has inspired thousands of people through live Surrealistic Pop Science Theater productions and Museum Of Kinetic Art tours. The museum and theater are listed in Atlas Obscura as one of five unique collections and one of four places to experience unusual art in Tucson, valued for its originality and giving people a greater sense of wonder, innovation, creativity, and empowerment. With the opening of the new Welcome To Beveldom portal, people anywhere can step into Beveldom and experience the natural flow of creation.
The Universe Within
The Universe Within is a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) world-building curriculum, based on the successful model of Beveldom, that has served over 800 youth in Santa Cruz County, a “persistent poverty county,” through project based, imaginative learning. The program received the Equity In STEAM Award from YWCA of Metro Phoenix, Intel, Cox and SRP in 2024 and again in 2025 through a statewide competitive initiative that recognizes nonprofits who integrate females and minorities into STEAM programs to support Arizona’s economic growth.
Welcome To Beveldom.
What’s Next for 2025-2026?
With the new online portal designed and built, we’ll be filming and adding new content from the world of Beveldom! Also, we’ll be fabricating Kinetic Butterfly kits with a motor to encourage people to use their constructor skills by building beautiful, functional kinetic art butterflies!
The Universe Within.
What’s Next for 2025-2026?
We’ll expand The Universe Within to serve more youth in the region. Our critical next step is to source and fabricate STEAM Kits with all materials: The Daily Doodle notebooks, Interactive Google Slides with step-by-step instructions for each activity and an AI-powered Learning Assistant for all four units based on the four 100+ page Guidebooks. The kits can be used individually or as part of classrooms, clubs and camps!
Offering STEAM kits efficiently streamlines the process of organizing and distributing supplies and activities required to learn, invent and build! And this is a hot market: The global STEM/STEAM toys market was valued at $6.83 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $13.43 billion by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8%. Within the broader kids’ subscription box market, which was valued at $3.5 billion in 2023, educational and learning kits accounted for 30%.
Invest In Art & Science That Inspires The Imagination!
Our programs spark the creative genius in people through found-object kinetic art, surrealistic pop theater, hands-on discovery learning, and multimedia art productions to dispel the common myth that creative genius is a talent only a few possess. To fulfill this mission, we produce and present original fine art and teach the next generation of youth how to invent, create and problem-solve.
Our work dispels a common myth that creative genius is a talent only a few possess. In fact, Dr. George Land’s work proved that 98% of people are born with abundant creative genius potential, but by young adulthood, that genius has plummeted to 2% because we stop using the imagination. Through our programs, people discover new ways to use their imaginations to solve problems, generate original ideas and invent things that improve lives, communities and the world.
As an all-volunteer organization, we rely on in-kind services to develop and implement programming. But we need to hire artists, educators and technologists to help our volunteer team produce our creativity programs.
“It was surprising to learn that I was born a creative genius. I just have to keep using my imagination to keep my inner genius alive! One very important thing I am practicing because of The Universe Within is how to use my creative mind. Not only does this help me in school, but it’s helping me with other things in my life too.” — Alyssa
“I spent an afternoon in Beveldom and it made me rethink my whole philosophy of life and how it’s so important to reconnect with nature and recycle and what consumerism is all about. So it’s not just about the fun and excitement of seeing these animated moving incredible structures, but it’s also about the whole philosophy of life.” – Rochelle
‘Being part of The Universe Within this past school year at the Patagonia Volunteer Fire House was one of the best experiences of my life. I learned all about motion, mechanics and electricity. I got to construct totally unique models from my world using the 3D printer, gears, motors, Arduinos and circuits. I can’t wait for the next unit!” – Ben
Gifts of all sizes are welcome. Every gift will be acknowledged on our website. If you’d like to send a donation by mail, please send your check to Mat Bevel Company to PO Box 1163, Patagonia, AZ 85624. Our Charitable Tax Number is: 13-4012463. Thank you for your support!
There are many ways you can support Build An Ark:
INFRASTRUCTURE: Mortgage payments ($2,250/month) and one-time purchase and installation of a heating/cooling two-ton mini-splits so we can film this summer ($3,000/unit)
TEACHERS & STUDENTS: Teacher stipends ($1,500/teacher), materials and supplies for STEAM Kits ($1,000) and student scholarships for The Universe Within ($100/student)
ARTISTS & ARTS ORGANIZATIONS: Preparing one newsletter ($1,000), writing an artist blog post ($400) and Search Engine Optimization preparation on one page of the MorleyArts.org website ($250)