Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

The Desert Museum is a great place to bring out of town visitors to learn about the beauty of the Sonoran Desert. The landscaping is beautiful and there are great animal exhibits. What I like is that it's not so large that it overwhelms. For Tucson residents, I recommend the membership for $50 that included unlimited admissions for the year for 2 adults plus kids. They also throw in several free guest passes plus free iced teas at the cafe. more

The Desert Museum is a must visit place if you have out of town guests- it is the best place for them to see up close how beautiful and vibrant the desert really is. I love to go in the early morning or around sunset when the animals are the most active. It is a long drive out there, but well worth it. more

We recently visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (September 2005) and had a great time. It was quite a drive from where we live, but it was worth the drive. If you're traveling between now and the 30th of September, be forewarned that you must take alternative routes due to Gates Pass closing. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum was a combination of a zoo and a desert garden. As we walked along the trails, we were greeted by beautiful panoramic views and bugs/animals. Our pictures consisted of cacti to beavers. We were hoping to see rattlesnakes and coyotes, but didn't have any luck in finding them. Along the trail is a building where you can view works of art. In this same building, you can also make crafts (drawings, headbands, origami, etc) for the little ones. It is also air conditioned so it's a nice place to take a break. Water fountains are located all over the museum. The great thing about it is it's surprisingly cold! Just in case you're not aware, this museum is outdoors! Also, be prepared for the road that leads you to the museum... it's like riding a roller coaster! It was a great learning experience and a great exercise! It was also inexpensive to visit... just go early; we missed out on the gift shop. more

What? A museum for desert plants and animals? Must be a small one room gallery right? The answer couldn't be further from the truth. This place is a zoo, natural history museum, aquarium, and botanical garden all rolled into one. First of all, they have more species of desert animals than you can imagine, probably an order of magnitude or two more. I was quite excited to see the javelina, especially when I heard that they are abundant in Tucson (which I didn't observe outside of this place). During the summer, they also have night programs, and it seems like everyone knows about this and the number of people at night seems to double or triple. They have ranger led programs in just about anything, from cave tours to talks about rocks and minerals, to various animal demonstrations. I strongly recommend visiting this place if you get the chance. more

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is a great place for adults and children. It is a zoo, museum, and garden all rolled in one!! Be ready to spend at least 2-3 hours here. You can see everything from ants to bears at this museum. Price of admission is affordable and kids under 5 are free!!! more

The Desert Museum is a showcase of the animals native to Arizona. They have javelinas, coyotes, gila monsters and snakes amoung others. They also have a few restaurants. You should definitley wear a loose fitting outfit and sunscreen since it is hot out there. Also, bring a couple of bottles of water. A fun outting for the whole family! more

I went to this museum when I had a trip to Arizona in July. From the front entrance, I thought it was a small museum where gather different types of cactus and other desert plant, but we actually took about 6 hours to finish visiting this desert museum. It is like an outdoor garden combines with a small zoo. This museum also features underground treasure from Arizona such as dinosaur’s bones and different types of crystal like minerals. I especially like the night programs they designed. At night, there are park rangers at different stations teach and explain different things that we didn’t learn and see in the morning. For example, I chose to go back to the rock and mineral site to see the fluorescent rocks. It turned out those fluorescent rocks are the ones we saw on the ground of the mineral site in the morning. These rocks changed into more mysterious colors at night. This museum trip was totally worth it. They try to show how these habitants and plants live and adopt in desert weather and geography. I was able to see every animals in their area in a close distance and they were active. I did not see any unavailable sign hung out nor site with hidden animals. The ticket is $7 and divide up the hours I spent in the museum = $1.. per hour. I think it is worth it. more