Arizona Museum of Natural History

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About Arizona Museum of Natural History

The Arizona Museum of Natural History is your place for dinosaurs that roar and much more. The Arizona Museum of Natural History (originally the Mesa Southwest Museum) is the premier natural history museum in Arizona. It is dedicated to inspire wonder, respect and understanding for the natural and cultural history of the Southwestern United States. The museum is located in Mesa, Arizona.

The Arizona Museum of Natural History was founded as a small museum in Mesa City Hall in 1977 with a small collection of Arizona artifacts, in a building designed by Lescher & Mahoney and built in 1937 with WPA funds, that originally housed Mesa City Hall, municipal courts, city library, police and fire departments. There were expansions to the building in 1983 and 1987, and in 2000 a new wing was added. The main museum complex is currently about 74,000 square feet, of which about 46,000 square feet are dedicated to exhibitions containing a collection of about 60,000 objects of natural history, anthropology, history & art, with approximately 10,000 historic photographs. A research facility was also added in 1995. Additionally, the Arizona Museum of Natural History has prominent research curators in the fields of paleontology and archeology/anthropology. Recent annual attendance is about 135,000.

Some of the regular exhibitions that you can experience are, a 3 story indoor waterfall, a real territorial jail, wind your way through the Lost Dutchman’s Mine and you can pan for gold in the History Courtyard. In the Southwest Gallery, you will see a native peoples’ gallery, which includes Paleoindian big game hunters and gatherers, the first inhabitants of North America, and the Desert Cultures that developed later. Visit a Hohokam village, with pithouses and above-ground structures, outfitted with real artifacts as they might have been from about A.D. 600-1450. See the magnificent Ancient Cultures of Mexico. In the Originsgallery, voyage through the timeline of the cosmos and discover major events in the history of planet Earth.

Among the special exhibitions you can experience is a hands-on adventure for all ages in the Exploration Station and the Paleo Dig Pit. Plus, three changing exhibition galleries offer a variety of interesting subjects.

The newest of the changing exhibits is "The Primal Desert Next Door: Land of Black Volcanoes and White Sands" which opened Feb.26 2011. For many, the heart and soul of the Sonoran Desert lies south of the Arizona border in Mexico. This vast expanse of exquisite landscape is the focus of this exhibition which includes stunning wall murals depicting the vast contrasting dark “moon-scape” volcanic fields and bright seas of sand dunes. Despite the arid conditions and extreme temperatures, the area supports a remarkable desert-adapted diversity of life. Visitors will be able to explore the geology, flora and fauna of this unique region though photographs and interactive components. The exhibition is based on the book “Land of Black Volcanoes and White Sands, The Pinacate and Gran Desierto De Altar Biosphere Reserve” by Larry Marshall and Clark Blake. Interactive features include a dune machine which replicates the phenomena of sand dunes, hands - on basin and range topography display, and a mock lava tube allowing smaller visitors to appreciate volcanic geology.

One of the changing exhibits is the Return to the Sea of Cortez. John Steinbeck and his friend, “Doc” Ricketts dreamed of a scientific expedition which would combine science, philosophy and adventure. Seven decades ago, they embarked on that voyage along the coastline from Monterey Bay around Baja California to the Sea of Cortez. In 2004, a team of scientists set out to duplicate this journey, which was documented in pictures, logs and journaling. Modern day researchers were seeking to not only retrace the travels Steinbeck and “Doc”; but also to find their holistic view of the world, where science, spirit and scenery become one. Inspirations, musing, photographs and scientific data from this journey will be on display opening Saturday, December 18 2010.

Additionally, the museum maintains the Sirrine House, a Queen Anne style home built in Mesa in 1896.The museum claims that the home is the only fully-restored Victorian-era home museum. The Sirrine House is currently only open for special events.

http://www.azmnh.org