Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art bought a couple of solar powered shuttles to help visitors beat the heat on their way into the museum.
The museum in Bentonville sees an average of between 1,900 and 2,300 visitors a day and its representatives said the innovative shuttle helps save in fuel cost.
"It's just a souped-up golf cart, is what it is. There are not many like this available that will haul this many people," David Burghart, director of facilities, said.
It holds up to 14 passengers and the farthest parking lot is about a 10 minute walk, Burghart said.
Burghart picked the shuttle up in Florida and said it's the largest one he could find.
The museum just began offering visitors rides on this shuttle on the weekend. However it will soon expand the service to six day a week.
"Oh, they love it. We've had lots of positive remarks from the people, sure beats walking," Burghart said.
The batteries take eight hours to charge, it's a 48 volt system, which are located under each seat. This purchase is part of the museum's sustainability efforts.
"This bus will run about 25-30 miles per hour but we try to keep it around 15 miles per hour because it extends the length of the battery charge," Burghart said.
Burghart said if they aren't really busy the shuttle can run all day with the electric and sun combination.
"Once the batteries are 80 percent charged, the solar panels will bring them up to 100 percent," Burghart said.
The museum will run only one shuttle. However, if the need increases it will put the second one in use.
The solar powered shuttle costs around $22,000.