Arizona-Sonora Desert
Museum
Tucson, Arizona
June 2008
The Arizona-Sonora Desert
Museum is located on 21 acres of prime Sonoran Desert, a
few miles west of the city of Tucson.
It feels much larger than the 21 acres because it lies
within Tucson Mountain Park, a 20,000 acre natural
preserve. The Museum opened to the public in 1952. The
collections concentrate on the natural history of the
Sonoran Desert region.
Most people think of this place as a zoo, and in many ways
it is. There are great displays of animals native to the
Sonoran desert. In general, I don’t think of zoos as public
gardens although many have excellent collections of plants.
Usually the plant collections just serve as a backdrop to
the animals, or as ornamentation along the trails. I admit
this is an over-generalization, but I think it is true. At
the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the plants really share
top billing with the animals because so much of the
interpretation is based on the interaction of plants and
animals, particularly pollination.
The paths are well-laid out and wander through beautiful
natural Sonoran desert vegetation, with interpretive signs
scattered here and there.
There are also nicely planted and
interpreted beds in many areas. The emphasis is on
plant/animal interactions. One area is this 'Nightlife
Garden',
featuring plants pollinated by moths.
A great low-tech exhibit is this Agave shawii with a piece
of PVC pipe next to it. The pipe is marked with the height
the flower stalk has reached on certain dates. Sort of like
marking a door jamb with kids heights, only the agave stalk
grows at an amazing rate.
There are spectacular plants, like this Erythrina, around
every bend,
and the views of the Sonoran
Desert are amazing.
Most people come here to see
the animals, but the plants are worth a trip themselves. I
wish the garden did a better job of labeling individual
plants. They have a rich collection of Sonoran Desert
plants, especially cacti and agaves, but outside of the
Cactus Garden it's difficult to find labels on any plants.
On the other hand, very few gardens do as good a job with
interpretive signage. There are a number of panels about
pollination and all are interesting and informative.
This is a great place to visit, for the plants and the
animals. Also, the drive out from the city of Tucson is one
of the most spectacular drives I've ever taken.
To see more photos of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum,
click here.
Click here to visit the official website of the
Desert Museum.