I loved my experience here at the Japanese Friendship Garden! For starters, this area is peculiar…read morefrom the rest of Phoenix, making it stand out from the other attractions enlisted here. It creates a beautiful environment that not many can experience outside of Arizona, and it is highly recommended to visit for anyone that is seeking a quiet, peaceful, calm, and beautiful setting with jaw dropping scenery. I went with one of my close friends and we both enjoyed the experience we shared. There were benches around to sit and admire the views, along with bridges to get a closer look at the koi fish and ducks. However, the best part was how many ducklings there were following their mamas. I had never seen anything like it, and it was truly an experience to remember.

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.

We came across the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center while exploring the murals along…read moreRoosevelt Row, and it was welcoming location, full of artistic energy. Art talks were underway, and galleries and studio spaces offer interesting vantage on work in process.

Great shop with local artists on display. Got to see and chat with Cora while she was painting…read more Picked up a variety of post cards, stickers, and art. I support local (eventhough Phoenix isn't my hometown).

Absolutely gorgeous space that feels surprisingly tranquil in the middle of Phoenix. Love seeing a…read morecastle inside our modern city. Ample parking (free!) and a beautiful garden next to it, too, if you want a little stroll after visiting. You'll be greeted by Irish music outside, which is always nice. Lots to learn about Irish culture, and a huge genealogy section. There are guided tours if you want an expansive account of the place. I personally just grabbed a pamphlet for a self-guided exploration at the entrance of the library and enjoyed it very much.

This place is an absolute oasis! It's a little bit hidden away, but just magnificent. I've taken so…read moremany people from my work here and they absolutely love it. There is a beautiful park right behind it that you can walk around. There's even a cool porch swing out in the park right in front of the parking lot. They have a gorgeous courtyard with a little French bistro set up. The bathrooms are so clean. It's free to visit this cultural center and this museum. If you wanted to check out books, you would have to pay for a membership, but you can hang out there and read books while you're there. The ladies that run the place are just the kindest people in the world. They're so knowledgeable about Irish history and can tell you about your last name and your lineage. I love coming here. I can't say enough good things about it. It's truly a hidden gem in Phoenix.

I'm not sure why the Yelp page states Arcosanti is closed. We were just there and is open and…read moreoperating. Clearly what the original architect had in mind many years ago never came to fruition as it really hasn't changed in years. Is appears to be a small artist community but we didn't see anything going on at the moment so couldn't tell if it id still active or they make everything south in Scottsdale at Cosanti. There is a gift shop where you can watch a brief video on the history and learn about their wind chime creations. Personally I've received many of the wind chimes over the last 20 years for housewarmings or Christmas gifts. Each is unique. The greeter in the gift shop was friendly and stated there is a tour available as well. We didn't have time for the tour but purchased a couple of small gifts. He suggested visiting the Scottsdale location as well which is called Cosanti. I had no idea it was located in Scott's well. Will check it out.

70s vision for communal living by architect Paolo Soleri, this is on the way from Phoenix to Sedona…read moreand worth a stop if you are into architecture and ecology, you'll see Soleri's unique "arcology" vision here which is a fusion of both. We signed up for the tour and yes the dirt road is rough leading to Arcosanti, our tour guide mentioned a future expansion in the living area but in order to keep building the road has to be paved, hopefully it's better in the future. The behind the scenes tour participants was twice as large as they normally have so at times it was hard to see and hear though our guide tried their best. We loved hearing about the different spaces and seeing what was hand made by volunteers though we enjoyed the more intimate feel of Cosanti more. The gift shop is one staircase above the cafe and it's where the tour meets. There is better bell selection at Cosanti If that's what you are shopping for but Arcosanti has more hand-made knick knacks by residents, there is also a nice selection of books about Soleri and Arcosanti. You can stay the night here and get a good view of the stars and a more intimate experience, we would do this next time. The architecture and vibe would make it worth it!

The magic is in the effort that the puppet makers and the puppeteers put into this place. They put…read moreall they have into it and the kids love it. The magic shows up in the kids faces and the delight they get from the weird looking puppets dancing across the stage. The shows are tacky and corny, but only last 40ish minutes and the children's faces light up. Adults get a kick out of the joy it brings to the kids, but if it were just us we wouldn't attend the show ourselves. The theater is a lovely well kept historic building amidst the downtown hustle and bustle. Prices are not cheap for the experience, but once again the kids love it and it'll be a core memory,

So fun! My husband and I brought our two year old here for his birthday weekend to see the Winnie…read morethe Pooh performance! I was a bit worried maybe he was a little too young for it but it was actually perfect, kids/babies of all ages there! In a cool building with interesting history. I loved the little museum and shop when you walk in, and then it's a cute little theater with folding chairs, benches, and an area on the floor to sit, though some of the spaces were reserved for a birthday party that was there. The show was fun and engaging, and not too long for the little ones. Nice that it's not overly expensive either, easy to book tickets online and free parking. Would love to take my son again this summer!

George Washington Carver was my boyhood hero and this museum is a great place to bring the kids. I…read moreplan to become an annual member to help support their work. Dr. Carver was born a slave and orphaned during the Civil War. Carver was the name of the man who owned him. He went on to get an earned Master's in biology as well as honorary doctorates and was a professor and Head of the Agriculture Dept. At the Tuskegee Institute for 40 years You may know him as the Peanut Man.

Oh, the potential!…read more The George Washington Carver High School is now a museum and cultural center (almost). The school originally opened in 1926 as a segregated school called the Phoenix Union Colored High School. After Carver died in 1943 the name was changed to honor him. The school remained open until Arizona desegregated in 1953 (it closed in 1954). Before you enter you are greeted by a statue of Carver that was added in 2004. Carver is best known for his innovations in farming. He developed the crop rotation method of planting soil depleting crops one season and soil enriching crops the next. He also developed over 300 uses for peanuts (a soil enriching crop). His ideas helped save the southern farming industry. He also found ways to make dyes from different crops. He gave most of his ideas away instead of profiting from them based on his belief that God was giving him the ideas to pass along. It's a challenge to visit the museum. The website says that the hours are M-F from 10-3. We called Thursday and there was a message indicating that they were closed for the day. We arrived at 10:15am today and the sign in the door stated they were closed. We took some pictures outside and were on our way back to the car when a man asked if we wanted to see inside. (It is a negative that it is hard to visit; however, it appears that it is mostly run on a volunteer basis with little funding, so it is to be expected...but it is still unfortunate.) The curator, Princess, greeted us and gave us a private tour. She was extremely informative giving us information about each exhibit and stories that have been shared with her. The stories come from the teachers and students who were actually at the school from 1926-1953. The museum has a lot of potential, but needs a lot of work. Most of the exhibits are not in cases yet and out in the open...which makes me cringe after being to so many museums that focus on preservation techniques. The displays include pictures of the students, a history of life in the area (including a kitchen and bedroom area from the 1940s). They have a display of all of the Phoenix area schools that were named for African American leaders. In the center of the buildings is the Sculpture Garden which has the"That Which Might Have Been Birmingham 1963" sculptures. The four statutes are a memorial to the four girls killed in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The pant on the walls around the garden is unique as well. It sort of looks smoky as part of an homage to the bombing as well. There are a few other exhibits inside as well; one for area churches, for a student who was an inventor, for the accolades of the sport teams who played for Carver. It is definitely a work in progress. The gym floor is torn up because it was not in the condition to remain. They will be replacing it and at some point (2010 or beyond) have the facilities open to rent. It seems like it will take a lot of money to have it restored...but will be wonderful to see once it happens.

This place is really cool! I brought some 3rd grade kids here for a Fieldtrip. They were…read moregracious enough to invite the drivers in to tour around. Lots of cool Indian artifacts and history. The tour guides were very helpful in what they explained to the kids and adults. I learned some new info for sure.

This is a place you won't find unless you are paying attention. It's hidden in a neighborhood and…read moreit's easy to miss out on this historical site. It's closed during summer but we got in the week before they closed down. They open back up in the fall so add it to your list of places to go. It only takes an hour or two to walk through the site and read about the history that was here long before us. It's amazing to see how they found trade to be strong here. As they had the mounds built in alignment with the astrology and it's really amazing to see in person. It's an amazing spot and I hope to help more people find it!

I went to an improve comedy event last night and I was very pleased with the center and I loved the…read morecomedians. I plan on going to many more events at the center.

From the owner: We host social, educational, artistic and recreational events to introduce and promote the Persian…read moreCulture to the community.

It was interesting but many of the petroglyphs were high in the rocks. It made seeing them…read moredifficult. I guess the best part for us was the building. There we could get some information about the peoples that drew them. In my opinion, a better place to see petroglyphs more closely would be at White Tank Regional Park.

Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve In the Phoenix, Sun City area…read more Open 8 to 2 Wednesday through Saturday. There is a small entry fee but I don't mind helping to support the University's work I think it's $5 for seniors. Of course covid has changed everything so you need to check in on the Is hours with the website. There It's very accessible although it's not really a paved ADA wheelchair accessibility A beach wheelchair might do fine if someone was helping to push. It's a gravel trail so seniors that are mobile should have no problem. Families with children should have no problem. It's a little more than a quarter mile down the trail. They seem to be relying on the audio tour inside and outside though I believe it's posted on spotify. It actually makes me a little sad that they're not relying on volunteers or students as much anymore. It seems to be a trend and it's probably related to covid possibly, to modern Digital Culture rather than human interaction culture that I and my generation come from. I'm also sure like everyone else in the service industry it's urban industry they're finding it hard to get volunteers and employees. It reminds me of the self service lines in grocery stores and retail now, It's all about speed and efficiency rather than service. There was an archeological student from the University of Arizona, who was doing some kind of trail sweep who I naturally engaged in a conversation with, she had a wealth of information about the site and she enjoyed talking about it as well as some of the frustrations of trespasser's and worrying about artifact theft and vandalism. There was no one else around so we talked for 45 minutes. When I asked her about her future in archeology she felt that it was probably going to be in museum work cause that was the only place that you could possibly get a salary if you weren't teaching. I always enjoy listening and learning from bright young people about their passions. The rock art was produced by Archaic (before 150 CE,) Hohokam (1 - 1450 CE,) and Patayan (ca. 900-800 CE) cultures. It focuses on the rock art found a short way from the building on an outcropping of basalt boulders found along a quarter mile trail facing southeast. Unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to ask the student about differentiating from the different the different time periods of rockheart and asking her to show me some examples. I really recommend a visit especially for families and seniors of a certain age or for initial cultural markings experience. It's will also help you get oriented to the indigenous culture of the Phoenix area. The museum and interpretive centre discusses the site and its petroglyphs as well as tools and pottery associated with the site and Hohokam culture. Archaeology of the site includes features aside from the rock art which are described in the museum, but are not accessible to visitors. These include the remains of a pit house with middens and cooking areas, and the foundations of two masonry rooms top the outcropping where the majority of petroglyphs were found. It's heartening to see that this site helped to preserve an acreage of desert from encroaching development, the fragility of such sites will only increase with with increased tourism, and they do there best to manage it. A small number of rock art pieces were actually moved to their current location when the nearby dam was built. (All moved pieces are so identified.) The preserve is the result of a partnership by a number of organizations, including the Army Corps of Engineers, Maricopa Flood Control District and Arizona State University. The site is protected and operated by Arizona State University.