Arizona Sonora Desert Museum: More than Just a Hot Property

Where zoo, museum and botanical gardens combine

Let’s admit it. If you don’t hold an anthropology degree, ecology certificate, or science diploma, many museums can seem dry. In the Tucson Mountain Park though, “dry” typifies the weather conditions only, and not the 30 acres of living exhibits in the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, where life is anything but dry.

The Wall Street Journal bills the museum as “part zoo, part museum, part botanical garden.” Celebrating the life forms of the Sonora Desert region, it’s a place where glass cases are as rare as some of its habitants.

My first taste of the region unfolded at Tucson State Park, where the renowned saguaro (sa-WA-ro) cactus thrives in abundance. This species appears to welcome visitors with open spongy arms. A short drive west in the park and I arrived at the museum.

The first exhibit I saw, an indoor-outdoor showcase, is divided into several regions of the Sonora desert. Among them are: cave and minerals, mountain habitat, desert grassland, Arizona upland, cat canyon, big horn sheep, birds (complete with a walk-in hummingbird aviary), life underground and the cacti and succulents garden.

Within the museum grounds it’s possible to see over 200 animal species and 1200 kinds of plants in just a few hours. Exploring such a vast range of diverse species would require covering many miles in the Sonora Desert, at varied elevations.

My first stop was at a limestone cave, complete with stalagmites and stalactites. Herein was displayed a 3-D exhibit of the origin of the earth and the moon, a scale beginning 900 million years ago and tracing evolution, aquatic life, reptiles, and various specimens and species. According to a museum fact, “The fossil cast from the earliest bird, the archaeopteryx, shows feathers, a skeleton, and teeth, so much like a small dinosaur that we conclude that today’s birds descended from dinosaurs.”

The authentic surroundings of the mountain habitat cut a chill through my coat. A mountain lion, perched on a high rock, appeared ready to pounce, while the zoom on my camera seemed to bring him close enough for his breath to fog my lens.

“You must make time to see the prairie dogs,” I was told. “They’re just great fun to watch.” It was true. The black tail prairie dog popped out of his dwelling, took stock of his surroundings, then quickly dropped back underground. I smiled, as visions of Chevy Chase in Caddy Shack came to mind. Once numerous, now completely gone, the last recorded sighting of a wild black tail prairie dog in Arizona was in 1930.

The hummingbird aviary is perhaps the most unique of all exhibits. The Sonora region has more species than anywhere else in the U.S. and hummingbird trivia tidbits at the exhibit are plentiful: “They are the weight of a penny and their wings beat 80 times a second. Their heart beats 1,260 times per minute, and if a human had the same energy needs, he would have to consume 300 pounds of food, and drink 150 gallons of water daily.”

My allotted hour ended in a naturalist’s wonderland worth five times the length of my stay. The Sonora Desert Museum is an educational eco-experience for all who pass through its natural lessons. Through creative interpretation and “innovative exhibitory”, it’s no wonder it is consistently rated among the top ten zoos in the United States. Perhaps the state of Arizona should consider adding a second natural wonder to its credits.

If you go to Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum:

From Phoenix:

Take Interstate 10 south
Take Speedway exit West
Through Gates Pass to Kinney Road
2021 N. Kinney Road
Tucson, AZ 85743-8918
(520) 883-2500

Admission:

Adult: $8.95
Child: $1.75 under 13
Child: Under 6: Free

Hours:

7:30 to 6:00 p.m. Mar-Sept.
8:30 to 5:00 p.m. Oct-Feb.

Tips:

During hot months bring a hat and plenty of water as desert air demands hydration.
Wear comfortable walking shoes.
Allow a minimum of two hours.
Respect nature’s rights: leave only foot prints and take only pictures
For more information, see: www.desertmuseum.org

Author: Tracey Rayson