invme Place
Everywhere
All cities · Everywhere →
EN
ENEnglish RURussian FRFrench DEGerman ITItalian ESSpanish PTPortuguese PT-BRBrazilian Portuguese ES-MXLatin American Spanish FR-CACanadian French EN-GBBritish English UKUkrainian PLPolish JAJapanese NLDutch KOKorean SVSwedish DADanish NBNorwegian FIFinnish CSCzech HEHebrew ELGreek ZH-HANTTraditional Chinese HUHungarian RORomanian HRCroatian SKSlovak SLSlovenian ETEstonian LVLatvian LTLithuanian BGBulgarian TRTurkish

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Museums ·Tucson ·Open now
4.821K
#1Museums in TucsonMost reviewed in TucsonTravelers' Choice 2026
Get tickets
Make a plan here
Directions Website Call Bookmark

Sign up free — See who's going and message them.

Is this your place? Get the badge for your website

About

Just west of Tucson, near Saguaro National Park, the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum combines a zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, natural history museum and art gallery on a 98-acre site.

More photos 11

1 / 11
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Arizona-Sonora Desert MuseumArizona-Sonora Desert MuseumArizona-Sonora Desert MuseumArizona-Sonora Desert MuseumArizona-Sonora Desert MuseumArizona-Sonora Desert MuseumArizona-Sonora Desert MuseumArizona-Sonora Desert MuseumArizona-Sonora Desert MuseumArizona-Sonora Desert MuseumArizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Why go

  • Warden Aquarium explores regional rivers, the Gulf of California and the desert’s reliance on monsoon water.
  • Ironwood Gallery presents artists from southern Arizona, the Southwest and Mexico, alongside nationally recognized artists and traveling exhibitions.
  • The Art Institute offers art education and a nature-illustration certificate program.
  • Raptor demonstrations feature birds native to the Sonoran Desert Region flying untethered over the desert.

Opening hours

Today08:30 – 17:00Show all
Monday08:30 – 17:00
Tuesday08:30 – 17:00
Wednesday08:30 – 17:00
Thursday08:30 – 17:00
Friday08:30 – 17:00
Saturday08:30 – 17:00
Sunday08:30 – 17:00

What's inside

  • The lower-vertebrate and invertebrate hall displays native reptiles, amphibians, spiders, scorpions, beetles and other creatures.
  • Life Underground leads through a tunnel and dim corridor to kit foxes, kangaroo rats and ringtails.
  • The Earth Sciences Center-Cave is a 75-foot artificial cave with fossils, minerals and displays about Earth's history.
  • Life on the Rocks presents animals of rocky slopes in burrows, crevices and other naturalistic enclosures.
  • Cat Canyon displays bobcats, an ocelot, a gray fox and a porcupine in grotto-like settings.
  • Desert Grassland recreates grassland habitat with prairie dogs and a replica mammoth kill site.
  • The Riparian Corridor features a river otter, bighorn sheep, coatis, beavers, native fish and aquatic invertebrates.
  • The Mountain Woodland recreates Mexican pine-oak habitat with a cougar, deer, turkeys and a brown bear.
  • The walk-in aviary has native birds, benches and a stream. The Hummingbird Aviary houses four species.
  • Desert Garden has three levels of demonstration gardens, two water features and seating.

Tips for your visit

  • The Desert Loop Trail is an unpaved half-mile path past displays of javelinas, coyotes and lizards.
  • During breeding season, nests are viewable in the Hummingbird Aviary.
  • Explore the digital library for plant and animal photographs, videos, animal sounds, games and a plant phenology feature.
  • The Art Institute runs workshops on photography, Sonoran Desert birds and the Sea of Cortez.

Interesting facts3

1/3
  1. 56,000 individual

    The grounds contain 56,000 individual plant specimens across 1,200 plant species.

    Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Wikipedia

  2. The Hummingbird Aviary’s propagation program is the only one of its kind for North American hummingbirds.

    Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Wikipedia

  3. The museum pioneered housing animals in conditions suited to their needs.

    Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Wikipedia

Shorts

History

Carr had previously founded New York's Bear Mountain Trailside Museum, where he developed a similar approach to exhibits. A foundation associated with Pack contributed $200,000 toward opening and operating the museum. The local television series Desert Trails featured it from 1953 to 1985.

  1. 1937The building that later housed the lower-vertebrate and invertebrate hall predates the museum. The hall includes painted dioramas from the 1950s.
  2. 1952The museum was founded by William H. Carr with support from conservationist Arthur Newton Pack.
  3. January 2013The Warden Aquarium opened.

Sources: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Wikipedia · Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Wikipedia (part … · Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Wikipedia · checked 28 Sep 2026

Where
2021 N Kinney Rd, AZ, Tucson

Plan from here: A day out →

Questions and answers

How much walking does a visit involve at Arizona Sonora Desert Museum?

There are roughly two miles of walking paths across 21 acres of desert landscape within the 98-acre site.

What are Arizona Sonora Desert Museum’s opening hours?

It is open daily from 08:30 to 17:00.

Can I buy Arizona Sonora Desert Museum tickets online?

Yes. You can buy tickets through the museum’s website.

How varied are the animal exhibits at Arizona Sonora Desert Museum?

The recreated Sonoran Desert landscapes feature more than 300 animal species.

How can I contact Arizona Sonora Desert Museum?

Call +1 520-883-2702.

How invme works
  1. See who's going — faces, not ticket counts.
  2. Write to someone who shares your interests — no swipes, no matches, no paywall.
  3. Pick the event or the place to meet at — and go together.
Join free

Reviews on invme

Sign in to review
Comment Share
Loading comments…