Information on:

Arizona Museum of Natural History

53 North Macdonald

480-644-2230

The Arizona Museum of Natural History 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 Southwest.
Arizona Museum of Natural History

Owned and operated by the City of Mesa
Founded 1977
Over 1 million visitors since 2000
60,000 objects of natural history, anthropology, history & art
10,000 historic photographs
Cares for Sirrine House, 1896 home of Joel Sirrine on Center Street
Preserves and interprets Mesa Grande, one of the last surviving Hohokam platform mounds in Arizona Mesa Grande and Sirrine House listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Thousands of students from hundreds of schools throughout Arizona visit the museum each year
Core of the museum is a 1937 WPA era building that originally housed Mesa City Hall, municipal courts, city library, police and fire departments
Expansions in 1983, 1987 and 2000 bring the museum to 80,000 square feet
Research Facility at northwest corner of Macdonald and Pepper added in 1995

Reviews

brian barriga

Rating:

Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018

This place was great! So much to see and do. A lot of hands on activities for the kiddies. You can make 2/3 hours go by quick, here. Many cool exhibits and very interesting. Nice dinosaur exhibits. The kids can mine for "gold" , which doubles as a place to cool off, sticking your hands in the streaming water. I was very vigorous searching for the gold, up to my shoulders in the water 😁 For the price, I thought it was awesome (12 bucks for adults, 7 for kids, 8 for adult students). Definitely would come back again.

Missy S

Rating:

Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018

First time here and definitely going to go back. There is something for everyone to do all ages. Loved it and cant wait to see what else they add to it. Pretty reasonable price too. Only thing we were confused about was the parking

Danielle Wilson

Rating:

Thursday, May 31, 2018

This is a really great local museum. As a parent and teacher it is one of my favorites. Little kids (age 2-4) love the dinosaurs and big kids (2-5th grade) love the hands on opportunity for history. I would love to see some more technology elements incorporated into some of the exhibits, but what is there is absolutely awesome! Staff is always friendly and kind, we love panning for gold, making tribal patterns, and seeing local history come alive. Stroller adaptable but baby carrier recommended, mostly inside but plan for a little outside time at the gold panning exhibit and Dino dig, wheel chair access, clean, restrooms well kept. I recommend a year pass! It is a great value!

Blake Carroll

Rating:

Friday, July 20, 2018

Do you like dinosaurs? Ask your kid this question en route to the Arizona Museum of Natural History. If they say anything other than "No, I hate dinosaurs" then you're headed for the right place. The facility also includes some southwestern cultural artifacts, interactive things to do, a mine and jail to tour, and even panning for gold - but it will ultimately be remembered as "the dinosaur museum." Regular admission for an adult plus one kiddo is nineteen bucks.

Jim Rogers

Rating:

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

This is a great museum for the kids, best you will find in Mesa. It's fairly big (3 levels) and has great dinosaur displays, several of which the kids can climb on and interact with. There is also an Arizona history area with gold panning and a tour of the old Arizona Territorial Jail (walk through the cells). All self guided, you can easily spend a couple hours here. They do some crafts and projects with the kids on weekends. Good place for birthday parties as well. Pay for the party room and host, bring your own pizza or other food and cake, guests enjoy the museum for as long as they want after the birthday party. Kids do need to be supervised though. Not a place for them to run around on their own. Parking is in City lots and garage nearby.

Arizona Museum of Natural History is not affiliated with AmericanTowns Media