New director takes on Children's Museum

Retired Carson High School business teacher Ken Beaton will become director of the Children's Museum on Northern Nevada today.

Beaton takes over for former director Denise Sin, whose contract was not renewed by the museum board.

Beaton, 62, was raised in Massachusetts, though his formative years were spent traveling around the country while his father served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II.

He attended Salem (Mass.) State College and obtained a master's degree in education at Utah State in Logan.

He started teaching in Battle Mountain in 1972. He was also the yearbook adviser, timekeeper at home basketball games and half of the chain crew for the football team.

Beaton moved to Carson City in 1975, and taught science at then-Carson Junior High School.

He then taught business subjects at Carson High School from 1978 to 1994, when he retired from teaching.

"I'm a big believer in a balanced life and physical exercise," Beaton said. "I take several exercise classes. I have a boxer, and on Sunday we did 4.3 miles in 63 minutes."

After retiring, Beaton sold advertisements for KPTL radio and worked with Dave Morgan's News Carson City for 18 months.

His teaching certificate is in science, and he said those are the exhibits he is most excited about at the museum.

Beaton has four children between ages 25 and 40. His oldest daughter is a science teacher in Massachusetts.

He recognizes one of the biggest challenges for the museum director is fund-raising.

"They need money. They want to see what I can do about raising money," Beaton said. "It is always a challenge raising money. It is a very worthy cause, and I feel very strongly about the children's museum."

Sin might wish Beaton luck, but she wants her job back. She was museum director for two years.

"This is unfair," she said. "I put the museum in the black for two fiscal years. I brought in $45,000 in grants and donations."

Sin's contract with the museum was not renewed over what she says was a single vote on the board.

"I'm unemployed because of a change on the board," she said. "Now I'm looking for work, and I'm a single mother with a daughter getting ready to go to college in another year."

"I liked working at the museum, and I'd love to have my job back," she added.