Arizona State Museum, Tucson, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Arizona State Museum is an anthropology museum on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, founded in 1893 and widely described as the oldest anthropology museum in the Southwest. It is best known for its collections about the Native peoples of Arizona and the surrounding region, including a large collection of Southwest Indian pottery.

The story behind it

The museum dates to 1893, when Arizona was still a territory, and it has been part of the University of Arizona for most of its life. Its purpose from the start was to collect and care for the objects, records and stories of the region's Indigenous communities, and to study the deep human history of the desert Southwest.

Over more than a century, that work has grown into a research and teaching institution as well as a public museum. Its pottery collection is the item most often mentioned, because it brings together vessels made across many centuries by the peoples of the Southwest. The museum also works with the region's Native nations, so its displays are as much about living cultures as about the past.

What to look for

• Look for the pottery displays, where shapes, painted patterns and firing colors show how styles changed from one community and era to the next.
• Notice how the exhibits about the Native peoples of the Southwest connect objects to the landscape, from farming in a dry climate to trade and ceremony.
• Take in the building itself and its setting beside University Boulevard, a short walk from the campus Main Gate.
• Read the labels closely, because many pieces are tied to specific communities and places rather than to a general idea of the region.

Tips for your visit

• Plan roughly an hour or two inside if you like museums, and longer if you want to read the exhibits in detail.
• The museum is an indoor visit, so it suits the hottest part of a Tucson day. Check current opening hours and admission before you go.
• It sits at the edge of the university campus, so combine it with a stroll through campus and the cafes and shops around Main Gate Square.
• Parking on and around campus can be restricted, so check current parking rules, or arrive on foot or by bike if you can.

See it on a quest

Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Tucson is a good way to see this part of the city on foot. You reach the museum area as one stop on a longer route, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.

Family Scavenger Hunt: Bunny vs. Fox in Tucson suits families who want to explore with a playful goal. You walk from place to place, hear about each one as you reach it, and solve a puzzle in front of you. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.

Kid Quest: Solve the case of the lost senses in Tucson is made for younger detectives. Children look closely at what is around them, learn about each stop through the app, and solve a puzzle as they go. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.