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Children's Museum Oro Valley

3.7 (35 reviews)
Open 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

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Mirrors in the walls and ceiling of this cubby
Kurt P.

Nicely done! Great selection of activities for kids 2-4, maybe 5. Friendly staff that do book readings, etc. Our grandson really enjoyed the wind tube with colored handkerchiefs that he could turn the valve on. He also enjoyed the cubby with mirrors - his comment: "I'm upside down!" I like that you can come back all day long. Nice to let the child have a nap, then come back later. Our grandson lives in Portland Oregon, and this facility is better than anything they have there. Kept him occupied for over an hour.

Niki T.

I've been told Tucson's Children Museum was awful, so I was really excited when I heard about this place opening. First off, my child would give this place 5 stars, she loved it. It is very small. But a good amount of stuff for a toddler to do. From a book corner filled with puzzles, arts and craft (including buckets of scissors!!!???!!), slide and stairs, farmers market, infant corner, random hill of latches and sensory objects and a big vacuum type thing you put scarves into and they go through the maze and shoot out over your head. But that's it! They charge you $6 per person, so mom and dad taking their child is going to cost you $18. In no way do I think it's fair to charge adults for a place like this. It's way too small and it's all directed towards kids birth to 5.

Monique Q.

Calling this location a "museum" is quite a big stretch...maybe an annex would have been better. It is a large room with about 10 interactive stations perfect for children under 3 or immature 4 year olds and it smells like feet. It is $7 per person (for $2 more you can drive into town for an array of stations for all ages and no smell). Very disappointing and a waste of money. Use your money to drive into town. One star for price, one star for personalized activities.

Tunnel of mirrors house to crawl thru
Dawn C.

The Oro Valley children's museum is a tiny little museum; much smaller than the Tucson downtown children's museum. If you have a child that can sit up on their own , under three they're gonna love it because it's made for them. There are usually crafts, activities for the kids to do, put on by the staff. Outside they have a few little musical toys to play with. And when I take my clients that are under two they seem to just love it. There's rubber vegetables and fruits to play with, there's painting activities for them, dress up, slide, story time, and that amazing vacuum tube display like at the Tucson children's museum. There's no eating or drinking inside the museum, also they have plenty of restroom with changing stations for patrons. It's a fun place for little kids that's not overly stimulating but just enough to engage them in lots of different ways. There are no TVs or video displays at this location. Just ordinary simple interactive things for them to play with like puzzles,blocks and stacking toys. What a gem

Art space

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7 years ago

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8 years ago

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9 years ago

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10 years ago

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9 years ago

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8 years ago

Quite a great place- very clean and fair price! The front desk ladies were very pleasant and helpful.

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10 years ago

It's small, only one big room but fun. I have a dual membership bc it's so tiny but it's close to home so it works.

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8 years ago

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8 years ago

What a great place! My kids were so excited to go and such a great price. Good location too.

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9 years ago

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9 years ago

Needs to be at least three times bigger. Good for kids under four and on a Tuesday morning.

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11 years ago

Nice place to get out of the heat. Small compared to the downtown one. But good enough to keep by 18 month daughter happy.

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Ask the Community - Children's Museum Oro Valley

Review Highlights - Children's Museum Oro Valley

Weekdays at 10 and 2 and during weekends at 11 and 1 they have activities like story time or an art project.

Mentioned in 2 reviews

Read more highlights

Children's Museum Tucson - Huge foam blocks. I have yet to see tall structures but I'm hoping

Children's Museum Tucson

4.3(145 reviews)
8.3 mi

Absolutely obsessed with the children's museum! My sister in law gifted us a family membership for…read moreChristmas and we come at least once a week. I have a four and a one year old and there are so many things for them to do. So many different rooms to explore: there's the transportation/public service area, with a car, a police motorcycle, and ambulance; there's the desert section all about our special Sonoran desert; there's a train room, a grocery store and kitchen, a vet area, a whole science based room, an art room, and a room exclusively for kids 5 and under. Plus there's a whole outdoor section with bubbles, a digging area, a music garden, and a small playground structure. I'm probably forgetting some things too--there's just so much! Not to mention an excellent gift shop. Each time we come we rarely do the same thing, since there is so much to explore! Truly a gem for our community! Thank you Children's Museum Tucson--we will be back again and again! My only wish--as a tired parent--is that there was a coffee shop on premises! I'm sure I'm not the only one wanting that :)

Huge shout out to the children's museum for their family Thursday nights. Perfect for hard working…read morefamilies to come and spend quality time with their kids in a fun setting. I love how they cooperate the Tucson theme in one of their rooms. Great place for all ages. It's nice to be able to play in and outside of the museum. So much to do! Thanks!

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Children's Museum Tucson
Children's Museum Tucson - Outside

Outside

Children's Museum Tucson - Outside view

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Outside view

The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures

The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures

4.4(155 reviews)
7.1 mi

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

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The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures
The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures
The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures

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Biosphere 2 - Great architecture

Biosphere 2

3.9(316 reviews)
18.2 mi

We had gotten some recommendations for Tucson attractions and restaurants from a former resident…read more One such was Biosphere 2. I vaguely recalled that this place existed in the 1990s (based on news coverage) but I didn't recall what had happened to it. It seemed to become a sort of cultural joke, and I think they even made some comedy on the general topic. After researching it a bit, it seemed worth checking out. The site is located about 45 minutes north of Tucson. You drive through the outer suburbs and then a small town or two to get there. The original idea was a self-contained, sealed site where human survival for space-related missions could be simulated. After that phase ended, the facility had passed through other university ownership, but is now managed by the University of Arizona. The philosophy now seems to be 'we have this expensive facility that would be hard to replicate - how can we make good use of it and maybe generate some income?'. The answers are to conduct large scale research in some areas, utilize it for associated degree programs in things like life sciences, and to open at least major parts of it for public tour access. You enter via a gated road and park at the visitors' center. There you either buy tickets or check in if you purchased them beforehand online. In addition to the standard tour, they offer some add-on more in-depth tours of some areas, but we did not sign up (or pay extra) for these. After check in, you walk along a paved path above the rest of the original complex. Then you arrive at the point where you descend to the buildings themselves. These are a series of interconnected super-sized greenhouses, basically. Each one has some variant of an ecosystem inside - desert, tropical rainforest, ocean, etc. The walking tour is well-marked as you follow large arrows around the complex, through doors, within the buildings, etc. There is a phone app that you download at the start (which is important, as there is almost no signal once you reach the complex) which plays numbered video segments on your phone as you progress through various stations. It actually takes a while to first enter the sort of enclosed environment I was picturing, but once you get there it continues in that way from pod to pod. I think the entire walk took us around 90 minutes or so, but you could linger more. This spot isn't probably something that absolutely everyone would be interested in, but I liked it. It is certainly unique - you're unlikely to find something similar or of this scale in many other places. I thought it was well worth a visit while we were in the area. If you're at all inclined towards an interest in science, you'll probably enjoy it.

What a cool place! Learned loads about how scientists tried to replicate what the earth does so…read morethey could do different earth science tests in a controlled environment. Still so much testing and learning going on! Did the Lung tour as an add on and learned about how the pressure balance was maintained. Long drive, but so pretty!!

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Biosphere 2
Biosphere 2 - Innovations at Biosphere 2

Innovations at Biosphere 2

Biosphere 2

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Colossal Cave Mountain Park - Great things to see!!

Colossal Cave Mountain Park

4.6(536 reviews)
27.8 mi

I booked the ladder tour for my husband and I for his birthday. Adam was our tour guide. We had a…read moregreat time! I am claustrophobic and let Adam know and he was very understanding and encouraging. He definitely helped me feel at ease and I was able to finish the entire tour. Adam is very passionate about caving and it really shows. We've been in multiple caves and on tours so I wasn't sure if this would be anything special. It absolutely was and I was pleasantly surprised. There were a few activities we got to do that I haven't ever experienced before like playing "drums" on stalactites and "painting" on the wall with a flashlight. We learned a lot about the history of the cave and heard some interesting and fun stories. We also got to explore a little bit on our own here and there off to the sides of the path which my husband really enjoyed. The ladder part is at the end and it was a lot of fun and almost like an obstacle course. We had a great time here and I'm really glad we came!

Fun tour of cave with some good history. Good that the cost supports back the park. Our guide was…read morevery knowledgeable and friendly. The path is very accessible so it isn't hard to walk. The lighting is great showing off great cave features and photos to take. Just no flash Although cool, I would say I've been to nicer caves, but if this is your first cave visit it is probably worth it. Enjoy!

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Colossal Cave Mountain Park - Playing the "drums"

Playing the "drums"

Colossal Cave Mountain Park - Silent Waterfall

Silent Waterfall

Colossal Cave Mountain Park - Eric was a fabulous guide for our tour through the cave. Eric also smelled really good!! Would go again if Eric was the tour guide.

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Eric was a fabulous guide for our tour through the cave. Eric also smelled really good!! Would go again if Eric was the tour guide.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - great horn owl

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

4.5(632 reviews)
12.8 mi

This is an amazing museum! If you visit Tucson, do NOT miss this museum and allow half a day…read more There's tons of activities for kids, but our group of adults had a fabulous time and learned a lot. I didn't love the reptile house. But snakes really freak me out. It was cool to see them, but not my personal favorite. They had docents stationed around with things to show you. For example, someone was holding a raptor on the way in and teaching everyone about him. Another docent introduced us to a 34 year old parrot named Dreama who loves men with beards. Another docent taught us all about Saguaros and showed us what a birds nest looks like, along with the seeds the Saguaros produce and what the ribs look like. There's a section on caves where you go inside and let your eyes adjust to light- this portion reminded me of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. There's even a narrow cave path you can follow, which is fun until someone starts feeling claustrophobic (me, I am someone). It was cool and fun down there. There's tons of animals to see too- javelinas, big horned sheep, otters, beavers, wolves, sting rays, an more. The big horned goats were especially perky and demonstrative. We enjoyed the labyrinth, the hummingbird house, the pollinator garden, the cactus garden, and so much more. Highly recommend this museum!

I had visited in 2015, and now that my young children are 8 and almost 10, thought it would be a…read morenice time to return. While there have been some updates... I am disappointed at the cost to essentially walk around the desert. No mountain lions, no cats, we saw one owl and one magpie, several reptiles, a couple of wolves, goats. I paid over $77 for me and 2 kids. With a veteran discount... The grill signed stated they were open, but the doors were locked. The other restaurant was closed as well. The kids splash area was dried up. Which looks like it could have been fun, even if it was geared toward 5 and under. We did not attempt the stingray area, as I did not see anyone at the ticket booth... yes, after over $77, this is an extra cost. We did like the pack rat kids indoor play area, and the mineral/cave area.

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Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Humming bird

Humming bird

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Great horn owl

Great horn owl

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Great horn owl

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Great horn owl

Pima Air & Space Museum - My favorite Grumman floatplane

Pima Air & Space Museum

4.6(530 reviews)
15.3 mi

One of our group had been here before and recommended it. I was initially confused as we'd seen a…read morelarge 'aircraft boneyard' / parking lot en route into Tucson from Phoenix. However, that it not associated with this place. This is a large museum located a few miles southeast of downtown Phoenix. They have 5 hangars with displayed aircraft plus a large collection of planed parked outdoors in several long rows. They do NOT allow backpacks or have storage for them. Leave these in your car (concealed) or you'll have to go back to do so. Not a complaint, just a fact. Some / most of their parking lot has awnings, which is nice for keeping your car somewhat cooler in the Arizona sun. In addition to the general admission, they have other options including a narrated tram tour of the outdoor aircraft. We added this on, but there may also be other side-tours. We added this to our itinerary. You begin in the main hangar, which is the largest. Here they have a large array of planes on display (on the ground and suspended from the ceiling). Among the many displays were an SR-71, an A-10 Warthog, a couple of large flying boat military aircraft, multiple military helicopters, etc. We spent almost an hour here. The tram tour boards at a 2nd hangar, so we visited that before boarding. They had some spacecraft (Apollo capsule?) and a Blackhawk helicopter, plus other displays. The tram tour ran about 45 minutes and was interesting. It would be exhausting to do this on foot, given the area. Among the displays were a couple of planes that served as Air Force One, a B-52, an enormous amphibious transport plane, and some F-16s. There were MANY others. After the tram tour, we visited an additional hangar (operated separately from the museum) housing a B-17 with associated displays. This is staffed by enthusiastic volunteers. It was worthwhile and merited a separate donation. Before they started closing for the day we managed to visit 2 more hangars (we ran out of time for the final one). We got to see a B-29 (the type of craft that carried the atomic bombs to Japan), and more WWII-vintage planes. About the only thing they did NOT have which I'd like to have seen was a Spitfire. Maybe one was in the final building. If you have any interest in military history or aircraft, this is a highly worthwhile stop.

Really big, fun museum. I have no special love of aircraft, but my son and husband do, so I tagged…read morealong. I still had a great time and enjoyed all the cool aircraft. Go early or in the winter because it gets hot and a lot of the exhibits are outside. If I had one complaint it would be that there weren't very many aircraft you could go inside. I'm sure this is a liability they have to weigh-- but I've lived other similar museums that had a lot more opportunities to go inside airplanes. Very nice gift shop. Cafe looked nice-- but didn't try it. I'm

Photos
Pima Air & Space Museum - PHILIPPINE

PHILIPPINE

Pima Air & Space Museum - MY FAVORITE WATER BOMBER I SAW GROWING UP SAILING FROM WASHINGTON TO CANADA!

MY FAVORITE WATER BOMBER I SAW GROWING UP SAILING FROM WASHINGTON TO CANADA!

Pima Air & Space Museum - Cessna 140

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Cessna 140

Arizona State Museum

Arizona State Museum

3.8(17 reviews)
7.5 mi

Really enjoyed our visit to the Arizona State museum on the campus of ASU. This is an anthropology…read moremuseum focusing on Southwest indigenous cultures. Considering the nature of the displays (delicate and a lot of reading), the exhibits may not be that interesting for young children. All exhibits were on the first floor. The museum houses an extensive collection of southwestern indigenous pottery, with over 24,000 pieces spanning 2,000 years. Although most of the pottery collection is kept in a controlled vault to protect from humidity and temperature, there are still many pieces on display and lots of opportunity to learn. There's also a virtual tour option for the pieces in the vault. There's also a wonderful collection on the art of Native American basket making, and according to their website they house the "world's largest and most comprehensive collection". Two temporary exhibits were on Native American jewelry making and a photography exhibit on the Sámi indigenous people in Northern Europe. In the hallway, there was information on the 19th amendment, which although I appreciated, I felt that it was out of place. Overall, I learned a lot during the visit and appreciated that the museum respected the history of past and present indigenous cultures.

I loved it!!! I had not been in years and they had really updated it. The exhibits are well curated…read moreand all the descriptions are informative and interesting. I could not believe the amount of artifacts were on display. The flow of the museum was easy to follow and it took about 2 hours to see the whole place. You could take longer or just hit a few of the exhibits. I believe everyone who lives here should go, and it's a great thing to take visitors to. It's always good to know where you live.

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Arizona State Museum - Entrance

Entrance

Arizona State Museum - Basket weaving

Basket weaving

Arizona State Museum - Entrance

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Entrance

Children's Museum Oro Valley - childrensmuseums - Updated May 2026

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