This was somewhat unusual. It is a museum dedicated to various sorts of 'miniatures' - small…read moredioramas, dollhouses, architectural models, etc. We checked it out one Friday afternoon. They have their own parking lot, though the sign was hard to spot initially (I had to loop back to get in). I think the admission fee was around $15 per person. The space is divided into several rooms. One is devoted more to fantasy / sci-fi themes. The rest is mostly segmented into a series of rooms with dollhouses and architectural models. Most of these are highly detailed. You may find something based on a place you've been - there was a Chinese structure from Shanghai that we'd coincidentally seen a long time ago, for example. There are also some figure models (historical figures) in one area. My impression was that many of the pieces were donated to the museum after the original owner / collector passed away, and their heirs wanted to do something useful with the items. The museum is a great solution to cases where you suddenly have a refrigerator-sized dollhouse that you are not personally that attached to, and don't want to store it in your own house forever. There was also a special exhibit (which I assume changes regularly) which, at the time, featured miniatures and models made by Ray Harryhausen. There is a gift shop at the entrance which you can browse without paying admission. This is worth checking out once at least, if you find the description remotely interesting. It was certainly unique.

This is an amazing museum! If you enjoy miniatures, this place is a must-visit…read more Every piece is incredibly detailed and tells its own story. You can really appreciate the artistry and care that goes into each miniature display. The museum itself is beautiful, and the staff provides wonderful customer service, making the whole experience even more enjoyable. Be sure to keep an eye out for their special events as well

I attended a planetarium show here about our solar system and it was really interesting! I also…read morelearned a lot. If i ever visit Tucson again, I definitely wanna go back here! After the show, I only had an hour to explore before the museum closed, so I did have to rush through the museum, but it was worth it! Really cool museum with lots of interesting info and artifacts. They also have a cute gift shop.

A must see in town ! All kinds of great shows here . I've been several times and haven't seen the…read moresame presentation yet .

What a fantastic walk through time!…read more This place has more than just signs - their extensive collection of unique items from our colorful advertising past is so much fun to explore. Besides the nostalgia, you can also learn the details behind how sign artists create neon signs. We went on one of their free demonstration days where a delightful man named Chuck showed us how to make a neon sign. The space is also available to rent for special events - what a cool venue for a party!

106 degrees - wanted to do something indoors since we couldn't go hiking. It's a really cool place…read moreto learn about the history of neon lights. A lot of the items around are from the 50s to the 70s. It bought back a lot of childhood nostalgic memories for me. The scavenger hunt was the best part. My son found all of them and I found none. Lol. Once you are ready to venture outside, make sure to grab an umbrella by the door so you can shield yourself from the dangerous dry heat. Even with the umbrella I was dying. I went back inside one shade darker. Don't forget to visit the gift shop. I always collect magnets wherever I travel, happy that I finally found a Tucson magnet that I liked. Support this local cool Tucson Museum.

A varied collection, well curated and tastefully organized. Was a true find on a hot day.read more

Based on the museum's name, I didn't expect to find about a dozen very good paintings by 19th and…read moreearly 20th century masters lining two walls in a corridor that leads from one gallery to another. I was rewarded by what I did expect: galleries of Native American rugs that looked like an exhibition of minimalist paintings. Staring at the repetitive patterns employed by skilled artisans didn't put me in a trance but these rugs held my gaze for a long time. I took a break and watched a video on the challenges of modern rug makers; water shortages are becoming more prevalent and it affects all stages of production from ensuring sheep have enough to drink to finding the natural sources of the dyes used.

Highly recommended. This gem of a museum transports one to another time and place. Very…read morewell-curated museum with an exceptional collection. Who knew that Studebaker was a wagon maker first?! The ole' West has such an incredibly rich history.

Visiting from Payson, AZ. Great mining section... Well done! Enjoyed our experience. We'll be back.read more

I loved the art so I give two stars instead of one, but my rating is only so low because of the…read morestaff member who made my group feel unwelcome. It's important to note that our group was visibly made up of women of color, and we are all mostly hispanic and indigenous. For the first hour, we encountered staff members and security who just seemed like they were doing their jobs normally. No staring, no following, just observing and moving within their sections. But as we moved into the last section before the gift shop, we encountered a staff member who left a bad taste in our mouths. He was on his phone and ignoring the other (white) people in his section, but as soon as we walked in he stared really intensely at us and immediately stood up. He spent the next 45 minutes following us from room to room, making intense eye contact with us and keeping his arms crossed. If one of us moved out of his line of sight (I moved behind a pillar briefly) he moved quickly to see what we were doing. I understand he was keeping museum property safe, but we were following proper museum etiquette and nothing we were doing warranted that reaction. We kept our voices lowered, moved slowly, didn't get too close to items, etc. People of color are used to being treated with suspicion in many spaces, so I can assure you we know what it looks like when someone is keeping an eye on us. I thought it was in poor taste, though, to treat us, Mexican and indigenous women, like that, especially when we were in an art gallery viewing art by Latin American and indigenous artists. It gives the wrong impression and made us feel unwelcome when we were there to view and celebrate our own art and culture. I'm not writing this out of spite, but hopefully the museum can make sure their staff members do not continue to treat people of color differently than all people should be treated...especially when they display our art.

This museum was much bigger than I expected! Multiple floors of various exhibits spanning art and…read morehistory. There's an impressive collection of Meso American artifacts. There's also a wide range of art from various time period, plus contemporary + modern art. This museum's centennial was in 2025, and there are special pieces at the museum that were donated for the centennial. Don't forget to check out the outdoor sculpture garden! There's also a signpost outside the museum exit that people stick their admission stickers on, if you want to be part of the art. ;) I have some feedback though-- the gift shop does not have any magnets for the museum which was surprising. I also didn't see any postcards that were specific to the museum. They had generic Arizona and Tucson gifts, but the only museum-specific souvenirs my friend and I found were a few stickers.

We did a short walking tour and visited the pop up martini bar of the new upgraded Presidio tonight…read more- it has some beautiful upgrades with new benches, murals, and walking path areas! There's also a great view of the tallest mural in Arizona here!

We love museums and this one is great. It tells a story of Old Tucson. A really good visitor Center.read more

We had seen a documentary a year or so ago about an art theft of a de Kooning painting from this…read moremuseum ("The Thief Collector"). It was interesting so we thought that since we'd be in Tucson anyway, we'd stop by and check out the museum and the semi-recently restored artwork (the thieves died of old age and it was recovered via their estate sale, basically). The museum is located in the middle of the University of Arizona campus. There may be street parking even closer, but we parked in a multi-story public parking deck about 3 blocks away. The deck is behind a 7-11 on the corner. Fees for parking were quite reasonable (we paid less than $3 for almost an hour). Entry to the museum is free. The lady at the reception desk gave us an overview gave directions to the de Kooning when we asked (I'm guessing they get that question a lot). They weren't defensive about it. :) There were 4 main areas / displays when we visited: - the main modern galleries - the main early / medieval galleries (which were being renovated) - an exhibit of local high school art competition winners - a special exhibit of sort of grotesque charcoal nudes of late-middle aged artists We got to see the de Kooning, which is what we came for (though none of us are fans of his art, per se). It was the only work protected with a plexiglass housing (so if you come for theft, steal something else this time...). My favorite here was actually a work by Georgia O'Keefe. There was also a Calder mobile and some works by a Spanish modern artist that my daughter recognized from a class. I'm not a huge fan of medieval art, so it wasn't a huge blow to discover this area was closed. We browsed the high school stuff. Some of it was interesting. We hit the final area before leaving. They even cautioned you about 'representation of the human body', or some such, when you check in. Rather than be snarky, I'll just state that this really wasn't something I was interested in, and leave it at that. Given that this is a university-based art museum, and not some major city's premier art venue, I thought it was decent. I was glad we stopped by.

Tons of pieces behind curtains and not on display…read more What we did see was not for us at all. One Dali piece was on display and the Georgia O'Keeffe pieces I wanted to see so badly were not on display. Maybe we came at the wrong time. Meh. Waste of time.

To set expectation, Yume Japanese Gardens are on a small parcel of land and are designed to be like…read morethose you might find in a Kyoto courtyard. Bring a book, meditate, take your time. The spaces have benches and invite you to find a peaceful moment in the desert. We did. The gallery has a video (English subtitles) that has great information about creating these types of gardens, and the gift shop offers a variety of Japanese items to purchase.

Visited this place over winter break, and I was shocked to see all the lower views. If you've been…read moreto Japan, then you might understand the place a little more. Basically, it's made up of a lot of small micro exhibits similar to like you might see in Japan in a place like where spaces are limited. The whole place is probably 3/4 of an acre but they did a wonderful job maximizing the usage of the space. You really need to take your time and sit down and just enjoy if you power through you're gonna finish it in 10 minutes and you'll miss the whole point of your visit. I think the story is really cool about the lady who created the location to show Japanese culture based on her personal experiences of living in Japan. This is something she pulled together on her own and open to the public and not for profit fashion. It might be a little pricey to enter (15 USD), but you also have to understand your money serves as a donation to keep the place running. It's clear that she's doing this on her own. And I think it's wonderful that she's so inspired to be a bridge between cultures that often are overlooked in Tucson.