The Phoenix Art Museum may have a smaller collection than some of the larger museums around the…read morecountry, but it offers several impressive exhibits that make it well worth a visit. The primary reason we visited was to see the Eric Fischl exhibit, specifically "Barbecue" from Steve Martin's personal collection. While exploring the exhibit, we also saw "Time for Bed" from David Geffen's collection and learned about Fischl's "Falling Figures" series, which reflects on the tragic events of 9/11. The artwork was both thought-provoking and memorable. Another highlight was Yayoi Kusama's "Fireflies Infinity Mirror Room". The installation is incredibly immersive, but it's also very dark inside. I'd recommend keeping a hand out in front of you as you move through the space so you don't accidentally walk into a wall while taking in the experience. I was also surprised to discover that the museum is hosting the largest collection of Baroque paintings outside of Europe. While many of the pieces may not be household names, the collection is impressive and definitely worth spending time with. The museum grounds are beautiful as well. It shares a large courtyard and sculpture garden with the Phoenix Theatre Company and the patio for Alden. Out front, you'll find several sculptures, including a T-Rex and a variety of water features. One of the first things you'll encounter after entering is Carlos Amorales' "Black Cloud". Seeing thousands of butterfly silhouettes spread throughout the corridor creates a striking visual effect and makes for a memorable introduction to the museum. The museum is currently undergoing renovations, so not every floor is open. Even so, we spent our entire visit on the first floor and never ran out of things to see. There are plenty of exhibits to explore, including a fun interactive installation featuring green apple candies that visitors are encouraged to take. Whether you're an art enthusiast or simply looking for a unique way to spend an afternoon in Phoenix, the Phoenix Art Museum offers a diverse and engaging experience. We'll definitely be back to see more once the renovations are complete.

PRICE SLIGHTLY STEEP Not my favorite art museum I've ever…read morebeen to as it lacks big well known pieces. I felt the adult price of $28 was too high, especially as a couple -- that's almost $60 for a day out of looking at some pictures. They do offer a AAA $3 discount, which we took advantage of. KUMSAMA FIREFLIES INFINITY MIRROR ROOM My favorite part was the Kusama Fireflies Infinity Mirror Room, where you wander into a room of darkness surrounded by mesmerizing twinkling lights and mirrors. I wasn't aware that this was there, so it was a pleasant surprise. LAYOUT I felt the museum has a slightly confusing, disjointed layout. GIFT SHOP There's a quality gift shop selling typical art museum items like jewelry, scarves, mugs, etc. LOCKERS There are complimentary lockers for backpacks/purses and water. WEB SITE Before our trip, I used their web site and found it confusing to find out the price of tickets and as to whether they were actually open on certain days. See my photos attached. Helpful?

Very fun and interactive art pieces! Make sure to pull up the descriptions on your phone for an…read moreeven better experience. Some fun pieces, some unique, and some inspirational artwork as well.

Overall this was a really great experiences. I'll start with saying that the space itself for which…read morethe exhibits were in, could have some more things done and touches to it. The seating could definitely use an upgrade in every space. This would make a difference immediately and just on its own. The interactive rooms could use some support to hide the supports that create the structure for the display. Why? Seeing the display in certain ways detracts from being lost in the experience. I've been to a couple other exhibits like this and in at least one, the structure was hidden making it more immersive and 'trippy'. It's surprising to me actually, that in such a 'nice and fancy neighborhood' that the little things were lost. I won't go into the rooms much because it's better to experience in person. I love exhibits like this that are interactive and brain activating. They make you wonder and think.. we hence 'WONDER' spaces. Truly so unique and cool to see. *Maybe not worth nearly the cost. There's a variety of things to see, non the same. We sat in each room for min of 15 min with others being a little longer I think. I think if you like these kind of events, this is a great experience. Also, the staff were wonderful! So helpful and kind. Thankful for that! It was an easy check in process. Heads up to come early and figure out parking, there's tickets for every 15 minutes of entry but you have to get them online

I've been coming to the Mesa Arts Center for years! For graduation ceremonies of the university i…read morework at. The staff are friendly and helpful. The sound engineers are very knowledgeable. There are two green rooms we use - both have the space to accommodate approximately 40 faculty members who make up the stage party. I sing the national anthem for the graduation ceremony and let me simply say how amazing their sound system is. There used to be no sound delay. The sound is crisp. And I think the sound system makes me sound even better than I really am!! lol The lobby area is spacious and great for after-ceremony gatherings. It truly is a great place! I also have contemplated taking some of the arts classes they offer. I haven't found time in my busy schedule but I do know they offer a variety if classes. I look forward to when I can take a class!!

My mom and I came here for the first for the Shen Yu. Great event we go every year but this year we…read moredecided to try the mesa location. We chose the sitting on the higher levels which we liked but don't chose the edge of the row cause then you can't see the side of the stage. Choose more in the middle. I was not happy with the bathroom stall I used. It seems when so many other people slam their doors my door became unlocked and opened on me while using the restroom. The bathroom was very clean!! The other annoying part was there was only one person working the concession stand. So we couldn't get anything. Cause our intermission ended by the time we got to the front of the line.

Was in the area from out of town and I wanted to see this beautiful house in person. I wasn't able…read moreto go inside but the outside is so pretty Love all the details. It's truly breathtaking

I grew up in an old victorian house and thought it would be fun to bring my dad here for a tour…read morewhen he was in town visiting. We ended up being the only ones on the tour which was nice. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and funny. The entire house has been restored to represent how the original owners would have it set up as closely as possible. The inside details are gorgeous and intricate. Our tour ended up being more like 45 minutes because it was just us and we didn't ask questions. It was a great way to spend a little bit of time before our next activity.

Paid $14 and only stayed about 40 minutes. There were multiple groups of school children that were…read morerunning around, screaming, jumping and bumping into everything. I expect that behavior to be tolerated at a children's museum, not a public museum where a basic level of respect and decorum is expected for EVERYONE inside. Wish I could say I enjoyed it but the hundreds of screaming children ruined any experience I could have had and left with a migraine. **Would appreciate museums to have specific days for "field trips" or hours for school days. Unfortunately many museum experiences are ruined due to the behavior of unruly children, and I'm still the one paying full price.

We visited the museum on a weekday morning. We enjoyed the displays of rocks from various parts of…read morethe earth, the Arizona-Mexican artifacts, and of course the dinosaurs, especially the aquatic dinosaurs. This museum has an active dinosaur fossil dig - you can watch and even talk to the paleontologist working on it! There's lots to see and enjoy here, including real elements from a jail that held prisoners from the 1830s to the 1970s!! The gift shop is reasonably priced and you can even purchase a "memory bag" filled with pencil, notebook eraser, etc, for only $2.50 each.

Wowww, I have heard about this garden for sometime but finally I made it happen to visit…read more As soon as you stepped in-- you already find yourself in the right place; calm, peaceful, beautiful and simple. The garden is well maintained and organized, quiet place for give yourself quiet time and meditation. The garden is not that big place to walk around, but it's definitely worth it if you feel like need to escape and looking for nature therapy--this is the one! Give yourself more time to sit back and enjoy the greenery. The staff is super friendly and welcoming! I will definitely come back again soon.

Honestly, this place is absolutely gorgeous,I will fully admit that. The setup, lights, and overall…read moreaesthetic are really beautiful and definitely make for pretty pictures. But personally, I just don't see it being worth the price of $14 a person. One of the biggest things for me was that the actual area itself felt a lot smaller than I expected. On top of that, there were SO many people packed in that it was hard to even stop for a second and actually enjoy the ambiance without constantly being surrounded by crowds or trying to move around people. It kind of took away from the experience because instead of feeling immersive or relaxing, it mostly just felt overcrowded. What also made it hard for me to justify the price is that you can literally see the entire thing through the fence from the park next to it. Honestly, if I ever wanted to see it again, I'd probably just go sit at the park, save my money, and actually have more room to enjoy the view comfortably without feeling packed in shoulder to shoulder with everyone else. Overall, it's definitely very pretty and visually impressive, but for me personally, the experience didn't match the cost enough to make me want to return.

Albesila is a traveling art exhibition, passing through various cities in the US and is designed by…read moreAlan Parkinson. Held at Mesa's Pioneer Park, it was here for 2 weekends and has since moved on for its next stop in Virginia. We went on the last Sunday before the show ended here in AZ. Parking was plentiful at the park and it was a short walk to the sculpture. It was a chilly day so I'm glad we bought our tickets in advance since there was a long line for tickets at the door. As a result we didn't wait too long, maybe a few minutes after getting our tickets scanned. Since the entire exhibition consists of plastic inflatable sculptures, shoes are not permitted in order to prevent any damage to the structure. There's some cubby holes off to the side next to the entrance where you can store your shoes while you're inside. Although the structure is meant to be maze-like it was a fairly straightforward walk through everything. It was fun walking through the different "rooms" of various colors. Those red rooms are intense! There are some illuminated patterns on the ceilings of some of the domes to serve as landmarks. The main dome had a brilliant display of pattern and color and I also liked the other main landmark called The Tree, which had some circular above ground cutouts within the structure. It was a pretty short walk through the entire exhibition. You have around 30 minutes to be inside but we were done in maybe 15 minutes. When you exit there are some food trucks along the street if you feel like grabbing a bite to eat. When we were here they had Philly cheesesteak, coffee, and Udder Delights food trucks. The price was reasonable, $7 per person so overall I felt satisfied for how much we paid.

I waited in line for an hour in 50 degree weather for this? I was done in 5 minutes. All it is, is…read morea bunch of bounce house connected together without the fun of the bounce. I'm pretty sure even the three year olds were unimpressed.

I had my first experience at this museum & it was such a good one!…read more My favorite part was capturing the illusions in my photos! There are so many illusions to choose from. I loved that they had stickers that helped navigate you to on how to take the perfect picture with the illusion within it. The customer service was 10/10. The staff was so helpful and offered to take photos for us. If we were having a trouble finding the illusion, they would guide us through it. This is the perfect activity for a date night, solo date, or family fun day! There is something for everyone!

3.5/5 I've been to…read moreone other Museum of Illusions and I think 95% of the exhibits here are the same. My kiddo and I still had fun though seemingly defying gravity and conjuring all sorts of optical illusions. We didn't look at some of the illusions on the walls so it took us maybe 45 minutes to go through the whole museum. It's a little pricey even with the discounted admission if you book online I feel, since it's not a very large museum and you don't spend a ton of time here. All the staff here were very nice though and willing to answer questions and take photos for us.