Interesting children’s museums in Arizona aren’t difficult to find. All you need is to do is look in three of Arizona’s top cities, because Mesa, Phoenix and Tucson all have their very own children’s museums, open and waiting for visitors. Each museum is geared for the tastes, interests and learning capabilities of children. Each will exert its own special spell on your child or grandchild as it welcomes him or her into the world of learning through wonderful exhibits and programs, they are bound to enjoy.
Arizona Museum for Youth, Mesa, Arizona. It definitely is not your typical, run of the mill children’s museum. As you can discover for yourself at http://www.arizonemuseumforyouth.com , The Arizona Museum for Youth in Mesa calls its self “an art museum you can kid around in”. The concept of this museum is unique, the goal is to attract children to art as a medium of human expression from a very early age. Instead of arriving at 21 without ever having visited a museum of art or being sensitized to the great emotion and creativity that art can bring to life, kids in Arizona have a chance to make friends with art early on in comfortable, kid friendly surroundings at the Arizona Museum for Youth.
While much of this museum is not overdone in terms of lots of interactive exhibits, for kids 4 and under there is even a section of the museum called “Artville” tailored to meet their artistic needs and their desire to have some hands on fun. In Artville there are places for kids to create some of their own memorable art work in the Art Studio or to use puppets, costumes, props and musical instruments to put together their own theatrical production in The Performing Arts Center also found in Artville.
The rest of the museum is made up of exhibit halls that change frequently always with the purpose of teaching something new about Art and artworks in the world around us. For example one of the current displays is called “Table Manners” . In this exhibit kids are presented with all manner and form of artistic endeavor which use the kitchen and all its elements as the center piece of their work. Kids enjoy the chance to recognize what it is that the artist is trying to portray. The fun of discovery and the joy of seeing well done art work can make for a most enjoyable family trip at the Arizona Museum for Youth.
Hours at the museum are from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Tues.- Sat. and noon – 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 or take out a family membership and enter free.
Tucson Children’s Museum, Tucson, Arizona In southern Arizona, the Tucson Children’s Museum a good choice for a place to go if you are looking for a fun filled children’s museum . It’s also the one place where according to their site, http://www.tucsonchildrensmuseum.org , every exhibit in every room is strictly “hands on”. Parents of course are encouraged to stay close to children to provide proper supervision of activities.
Kids will look forward to exhibits like “Ocean Discovery Center”, “Dinosaur World”, “The Art Studio ” and “Farmers Market”. These are only some of the permanent exhibits that kids can visit each and every time you make a trip to the Tucson Children’s Museum . There are also lots of special weekly activities like “Tyke Time” and one of a kind events like a visit from the local fire department.
The regular museum hours at the Tucson Children’s Museum are Tues-Sat. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. and Sun. from noon- 5 p..m. The museum is open 7 days a week during the summer months. Admission is a very reasonable $5 for kids through 18 years of age and seniors and $7 for adults. If your wondering how popular this particular children’s museum in Arizona is, suffice it to say that in 2006 a total of 80,000 visitors made their way happily through the Tucson Children’s Museum.
Children’ s Museum of Phoenix, Arizona Ever want to get in on the ground level of something new, exciting and fun? If you live in or are going to be visiting in the Phoenix , Arizona area this summer then you can do exactly that by stopping by the Children’s Museum of Phoenix. This brand new addition to the state’s small collection of children’s museums is scheduled to open on Saturday June 14 According to their own advertisement, the Children’s Museum of Phoenix in Arizona is meant to fully involve “the minds, muscles and imaginations” of both the children who visit and the parents and grandparents who brought them. The goal of the new museum is to provide entertaining and educational hands on fun for kids from 0-10 years of age.
There are lots of exhibits that you will want to visit and try out. What kid wouldn’t want to stop by a gallery with the title “Gorgeous Messy Projects: Let the Fun Begin”? There’s fun waiting too at the Art Studio and the Book Loft. Still there is something intriguing about the room known as “Noodle Forest”. Lets face it you and your kids will want to see everything this new children’s museum has to offer. So make a note the Children’s Museum of Phoenix will be open on both June 14 and 15 from 9 a.m. – 4 and the admission on those special days will be, you guessed it, FREE.
Otherwise according to the museums site that you can visit at http://www.childrensmuseumofphoenix.org , museum hours are 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tues. -Sun. and admission for all non-members is $9 for everyone over 1 year of age.
There are some quality museums to visit in Arizona for both residents and visitors. If you haven’t visited one yet maybe now’s the time.
