Arizona - Sonora Desert Museum
Scientific Wonder Turns 60 By Monica Surfaro Spigelman
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A Tucson treasure, this place for all seasons, is embraced worldwide for ground-breaking, natural exhibitions and enchanting desert wilderness. With new programs to celebrate its 60th year, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is ready for a new close-up. Raptors soar in flight and prompt a long exclamation from the crowd. An endangered Mexican wolf roams an expansive habitat as spellbound onlookers enjoy an intimate encounter with wildlife. Otters. Prairie dogs. The bighorn ram. You know what we’re talking about – you’ve been here. These up-close encounters speak to everyone at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the internationally renowned center of education, research and Sonoran desert life. Now there are new wonders in store – a Great Blue Heron at home in the cienega habitat, watching the animal keepers up close at work, and in December, the new Warden Aquarian exhibit Rivers to the Sea. Far more than a world-class zoo, this showcase of natural desert and all its interconnections is also a botanical garden and natural history museum that’s uniquely woven into the fabric of Tucson. “Without question, its economic impact on our region is significant and contributes to our distinct sense of place and quality of life,” said Allison Cooper, marketing director for the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The Desert Museum is not only a natural attraction for visitors seeking an authentic and memorable experience, it’s also becoming a globally recognized scientific wonder for the most elite scientists and travel ‘purists.’ ”
While more than 600,000 annually have experienced delightful moments in this picturesque living museum, the new programs launching during the Desert Museum’s 60th anniversary year will make Tucsonans and tourists alike want to head back there again. What’s New Part of the Labor Day 60th anniversary kick-off highlighted the Great Blue Heron/Cienega exhibit – a natural habitat showcase for the tall North American water bird commonly found near shores and wetlands. The Desert Museum’s graceful heron was a patient at a Seattle wildlife sanctuary after sustaining injuries, likely from an eagle attack. Unable to return to the wild, the museum accepted the heron as an educational bird and created an artful, airy enclosure in the Desert Grasslands area adjacent to the prairie dog exhibit. Visitors also will discover a newly constructed library in the Baldwin Education Building. This research center
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This desert sea has over 2,500 miles of coastline and is home to thousands of marine species, making it one of the most diverse seas on the planet.
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– Stephane Poulin Curator of Herpetology Ichthyology and Invertebrate Zoology Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
contains the Desert Museum’s digital library – more than 6,000 books, periodicals and audio-visuals of relevance to the natural history and interpretation of the Sonoran desert region. The collection also includes 30 boxes of archival materials, more than a thousand black-and-white photos and negatives, 30 films and 32 scrapbooks of clippings concerning the museum’s history from 1952 to present. The library includes the new Garden Room, a space that increases classroom capacity for the museum’s Art Institute. There are already so many ways to engage with the desert at every trail or enclosure. Yet the museum is promising even more close-up interactions with desert wildlife. The Animal Keeper program allows visitors to watch keepers work with the animals in a variety of ways – through feedings, enrichment activities or training exercises to prepare the animals for vet procedures. At scheduled intervals, one of the museum’s 18 keepers will talk with visitors about the behaviors of various wildlife, like the scent marking of javelinas and foraging of coatis. Check the information board at the entry ramada for Animal Keeper interaction options. Wonder of Water The aquatic life of the desert – from the Colorado River down through the Gulf of California – is intrinsic to the desert, yet its story has never been told completely. That will change in December when the Desert Museum opens its new Warden Aquarium and exhibition Rivers of the Sea. “The waters that flow from the Colorado to the Sea of Cortez are of immense importance to the life of the desert,” said Stephane Poulin, the Desert continued on page 64 >>>
1. Harris’ hawk, a star of the Raptor Free Flight program (photo: Howard Paley) 2. George L. MountainLion (photo:Howard Paley) 3. Sonoran desert toads (photo:Howard Paley) 4. Fishhook barrel cactus in bloom (photo: Mark Dimmitt) 5. One of 200 docents interprets a Barn owl for students (photo: Jackie Alpers) 6. Visitors enjoy a desert vista with Saguaro backdrop (photo: Jackie Alpers) 7. Conservationist-in-the-making checks out the Ancient Arizona exhibit (photo: Jackie Alpers) 8. Bighorn sheep native to the Sonoran Desert’s “sky island” habitats (photo: Howard Paley) 9. Purple Owl Clover (photo Jim Honcoop) 10. A black-tailed Prairie dog at the Museum – one of the few places in Arizona where they can still be seen (photo:Howard Paley) 11. Visitors exploring a portion of the Museum’s two miles trail system (photo: Jackie Alpers)