Tucson - American Southwest - page 381

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Value

Passport to Tucson

The Tucson Attractions Passport is a great way to save money on admissions to
many of the city's top attractions. The passport, available at the downtown Visi-
tors Center, 100 S. Church Ave. ( & 800/638-8350 or 520/624-1817; www.tucson
passport.com), costs $15 and gets you two-for-one admissions to the Arizona-
Sonora Desert Museum, Old Tucson Studios, Biosphere 2, the Pima Air & Space
Museum, Tohono Chul Park, the Tucson Museum of Art, Kartchner Caverns State
Park, and many other attractions in Tucson and across southern Arizona.

the more interesting buildings are those maintained by the Tucson Museum of Art and
located on the block surrounding the museum. A map and brochures are available at the
museum's front desk, and guided tours of the historic block and Corbett House are avail-
able (free with admission to the museum).
Arizona Historical Society Downtown Museum If you want to learn more
about the history of Tucson, this is the museum to visit. Exhibits cover Spanish presidio
days, American army days, merchants, and schools. Through the use of artifacts and old
photos, these exhibits help bring the city's past to life. One of the most curious exhibits
focuses on the gangster John Dillinger, who was arrested here in Tucson.
140 N. Stone Ave. & 520/770-1473. www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org. Admission $3 adults, $2 seniors
and students ages 12-18, free for children 11 and under; free on 1st Sat of each month. Tues-Fri 10am-
4pm. Closed major holidays. All downtown-bound buses.
Arizona History Museum As the state's oldest historical museum, this repository of
all things Arizonan is a treasure-trove for the history buff. If you've never explored a real
mine, you can do the next best thing by exploring the museum's full-scale reproduction
of an underground mine tunnel. You'll see an assayer's office, miner's tent, stamp mill,
and blacksmith's shop in the mining exhibit. A transportation exhibit displays stage-
coaches and the horseless carriages that revolutionized life in the Southwest, while a range
of temporary exhibits give a pretty good idea of what it was like back then.
949 E. Second St. & 520/628-5774. www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org. Admission $5 adults, $4 seniors
and students ages 12-18, free for children 11 and under; free for all 1st Sat of each month. Mon-Sat
10am-4pm. Closed major holidays. Bus: 1, 4, 5, or 6.

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Arizona State Museum This museum, which is the oldest anthropological museum
in the Southwest, houses Paths of Life: American Indians of the Southwest, one of the state's
most interesting exhibits on prehistoric and contemporary Native American cultures of
the Southwest. The exhibit focuses on 10 different tribes from around the Southwest and
northern Mexico, not only displaying a wide range of artifacts, but also exploring the
lifestyles and cultural traditions of Indians living in the region today. In addition, the
museum showcases a collection of some 20,000 ceramic pieces. This pottery spans 2,000
years of life in the desert Southwest.
University of Arizona campus, 1013 E. University Blvd., at Park Ave. & 520/621-6302. www.statemuseum.
arizona.edu. Admission $3 suggested donation. Mon-Sat 10am-5pm. Closed major holidays. Bus: 1, 4, 5,
or 6.