Group Tours at Arizona State Museum

Docent-led Tours | Curator-guided Tours | Travel Tours

Docent-led Tours - Free with Paid Admission

Paths of Life

See, hear, and touch highlights of the Yaqui, O’odham, Apache, Navajo, and Hopi sections of the Paths of Life exhibition with knowledgeable guides. Free* docent-led tours are available October through April:

• Thursdays, 2:00 p.m.
• Fridays, 1:00 & 2:00 p.m.
• Saturdays, 2:00 p.m.

Standard tours are 45 minutes but are flexible: ask your guide for a shorter or longer experience! Tours are geared towards adults but all ages are welcome. No reservations necessary for the above regularly-scheduled tours. Tours are subject to change according to docent availability. You may call ahead to Dan Vander Ploeg at 520-626-5886 or check at the front desk upon arrival to confirm that a tour is available.

For larger groups (8 or more) or a special request, please submit a Special Tour Request form.

* Docent-led tours are free with paid admission.

Many Mexicos

This artifact-rich exhibition interprets the broad sweep of Mexican history from the perspective of the borderlands.  Three-hundred objects illustrate 3,000 years of varied Mexican histories. See an Olmec baton, Spanish armor, Santa Anna's sword and a sombrero that may well have belonged to Pancho Villa!

Free* 45-minute docent-led tours of Many Mexicos are available by special request only. Please submit a Special Tour Request form.

* Docent-led tours are free with paid admission.

Curator-guided Tours

Arizona State Museum offers curator-led, adult group tours during regular business hours Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. by appointment. Advance notice is necessary. Scheduling is dependent upon availability of curators.Tour Fee: $12.00 per person (includes discounted museum admission):

We are pleased to offer your group any combination of the following:

• The Pottery Project: Curators discuss more than 200 choice specimens from ASM’s premier and nationally recognized collection (at 20,000+ whole vessels, it is the largest collection of its kind in the world!). The vessels trace the development of Southwest pottery traditions from the earliest times to the present. 30+ minutes
  More about The Pottery Project
• Conservation Laboratory: Meet ASM’s world-renowned conservators and tour their state-of-the-art laboratory. See the preservation work they conduct on ASM’s vast and varied collections. 30 minutes
• Collections Overview: Learn about the museum’s collecting philosophy and its practices in care, storage, and use. 30 minutes
• Archaeology Laboratory: Learn about laboratory research procedure—the equally important counterpart to field excavation. You will see computer models and reconstructions and learn how artifacts are catalogued and used as research tools. 30 minutes.
• Library: ASM's library, established in 1957, is a non-circulating research Mecca specializing in the archaeology, ethnology, and material culture of the American Southwest and northern Mexico. Nestled in magnificent architectural surroundings, this collection is regarded worldwide as the premier resource for the study of Southwest anthropology. 20 minutes

To schedule a curator-led group tour, contact Darlene Lizarraga by email, or telephone 520-626-8381. Payment ($12 per person) must be made in advance. Phone with a credit card handy or send a check payable to "UA Foundation/ ASM." No portion of your payment is tax deductible.

Darlene Lizarraga
Marketing Office
Arizona State Museum
PO Box 210026
Tucson, AZ 85721-0026

Travel Tours

For travel tours to various destinations throughout the Southwest and Mexico, led by ASM experts, see Travel Tours

Photos by ASM Staff