Tucson, AZ – The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a must-see for visitors to Tucson. It’s ranked on TripAdvisor.com as one of the top museums in the country and the #1 Tucson attraction. Unlike most museums, about 85% of the experience is outdoors! The museum provides an up close and thorough look at the Sonoran Desert Ecosystem.
The puma, aka mountain lion, is a top Sonoran predator
View of the Cacti garden
The 98 acre Desert Museum is a fusion experience: zoo, botanical garden, art gallery, natural history museum, and aquarium.
- 21 interpreted acres with two miles of walking paths through various desert habitats
- 230 animal species
- 1,200 types of plants — 56,000 individual specimens
- One of the world’s most comprehensive regional mineral collections
A Javelina, a type of peccary, rests in the shade
One of the many rattlesnakes exhibited
I first visited this museum on a family vacation when I was 4 years old. That visit includes some of my earliest childhood memories and one of my dad’s favorite stories of my childhood. As the story goes, I was looking at a display about animals when a woman I did not know decided to “help” me learn about the animals. She began pointing at the animals and saying, “That’s a rabbit, that’s a squirrel…” and I listened politely until she pointed at the next animal and my excitement overcame me and I burst out, “And that’s a porcupine!”. Obviously she realized she was not teaching me about the animals. My dad says that she looked a little embarrassed and had nothing else to say as she walked away.
A chuckwalla poses
On our visit this week, the museum was fantastic. Admission is $20.50 for general admission, $8 for children 3-12 and $18 for seniors. As most of the museum is outdoors, we recommend going early in the day and bring sunscreen and a hat. We arrived just after the 7:30am opening time. The opening time varies throughout the year so check the website at the time of your visit. The large mammals were all active and visible. The temperature topped out around 90 F and by 11:30am it was getting a little brutal in the sun. We spent about 5 hours touring and probably didn’t see everything. There are several restrooms located throughout the property and several dining options for meals. They do not sell disposable water bottles, but do have water fountains and filling stations throughout the museum.
Tarantulas are found in the desert
Male Mexican Gray Wolf
The museum offers numerous programs throughout the day with a board listing all programs at the entrance. We enjoyed the raptors in flight program and were able to see several snakes and a kestrel up close. In addition to large mammals, there is a hummingbird area, butterfly garden, cactus garden, cave area, aviary, and reptile area. There were hands on activities for kids located throughout the museum.
Great Horned Owl during the raptor program
A Kestrel on display
