|
Adult Classes and Trips
Sandhill Cranes, Raptors and Waterfowl
February 6, 2025  | Southeastern Arizona's desert grasslands and agricultural areas are dotted with artificial lakes, ponds and mudflats providing habitat for winter birds, including at least twelve species of raptors and numerous waterfowl (ducks and geese). Thousands of Sandhill cranes migrate from as far away as Alaska to spend the winter near Willcox. Join us for a spectacular day of discovery as we explore the Willcox area - one of the region's birding hot spots. We will meet at Park Place Mall and bring a sack lunch. Very little walking is required. Transportation included. |
Heirloom Fruit Tree Workshop
February 13, 2025  | Jesús García, founder of the Kino Heritage Fruit Trees Project, will teach techniques for propagation, pruning, grafting and care of fruit trees. The class begins with a talk on the historical significance of heirloom trees in the Sonoran Desert, then moves to the hands-on aspect of maintenance, and ends with a tour through the Mission Garden at the base of A Mountain. Every participant will walk away with fruit tree cuttings and the knowledge of how to grow them. |
Land of the SeriFebruary 19 – 23, 2025  | Travel with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum this February to explore the world of the Seri people. Our guide, cultural conservationist Jesús García, enthusiastically shares with us the culture of this desert people as well as the natural and geological history of the Central Gulf Coast subdivision of the Sonoran Desert. Our voyage of discovery includes the Seri Museum in Nuevo Bahía Kino, a visit to the Prescott College Research Station, a panga ride to the mangroves of Isla Tiburón, birding in the estuary of Laguna de la Cruz, a walk in a cardón forest, and of course, meetings with the Seri people themselves. Our adventure also includes time on the beach of Kino Bay with its intensely blue water, as well as daily helpings of fresh seafood and opportunities to support the Seri with purchases of their handcrafts. Itinerary and Trip Details Prices and Registration Details |
Mammoths of the San Pedro Valley
February 27, 2025 | 
| Did you know that we had large Ice Age mammals in southern Arizona? At the Murray Springs archeological site along the San Pedro River near Sierra Vista we will learn about the Pleistocene megafauna which roamed the savannahs. Alongside these mammals lived the Clovis people, great hunters, which we know from their fluted projectile points. For lunch we will stop at the Holy Trinity Monastery. Our last activity will be combing the St. David Formation for gypsum crystals. Transportation included. Prices and Registration Details |
Birds of Prey
March 12, 2025  | Raptors are an integral part of southern Arizona’s ecosystems, and understanding of their life histories begins with their identification. With twenty-eight species of daytime hunting raptors in Arizona it can be difficult to tell one from another. Here is an opportunity to learn which traits are most reliable to help you through this process. Shapes, flight style, plumage, habitat, nuances in behaviors and season are all important to recognize. This program takes place indoors with beautiful photography and accounts of personal observations. We will follow up with an optional field trip to the Tubac Hawk Watch on Sunday, March 15th to practice what you have learned. Prices and Registration Details |
Bobcats of Arizona: Elusive Predators of the Desert
March 12, 2025  | Explore the fascinating world of the Bobcats of Arizona in this engaging and educational program! Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are one of the most elusive and adaptable predators in the American Southwest, thriving in diverse habitats ranging from desert scrub to mountainous regions. This program delves into their biology, behavior, and the unique challenges they face in Arizona's harsh yet beautiful landscape. What sets this class apart is the invaluable firsthand observations of Steve Vaughan, whose accounts go beyond what's readily available in published materials. There will be an optional fieldtrip to the Sweetwater Wetlands, home to some of our local Tucson bobcats on Thursday, March 20th. Prices and Registration Details |
Spring Plants and Wildflower Walks
March 19 or 29, 2025  | This is the time of year to enjoy the desert! Join Meg Quinn, retired Desert Museum horticulturist, for a walk and lesson on identifying dozens of local canyon shrubs, forbes and, if we have good rains, wildflowers. You will learn about plant adaptations to living in a dry environment. We will follow a sandy wash up a canyon near the Museum. There are a few places where we will need to walk over small rock ledges. Total distance traveled will be two miles. Prices and Registration Details - March 19 Prices and Registration Details - March 29 |
Baja California March 28 – April 10, 2025  | Ecology, Geology, Birding, Whale Watching, Cowboys and Ethnobotany!
Led by the incomparable Jesús García and geologist/raconteur, Fred Nials, we travel by motorcoach down the entire length of the Peninsula, traversing desert chaparral, a fertile valley of grape and olive orchards to the captivating Cataviña desert with its forests of boojum, elephant trees and cardón. At Laguna San Ignacío rare up-close whale watching and off-the-grid “glamping” opportunites await. Surrounded by a lush date palm oasis, our stay in San Ignacío includes a day trip to see pictographs of remote Baja. Our time in Loreto Bay includes snorkeling with tropical marine life at Isla Coronado. Experience the charming mining communities and the artists’ haven of Todos Santos as we travel to San José del Cabo, and the famous Los Arcos rock formation at the southern tip of Baja. Our return is by air. Itinerary and Trip Details Prices and Registration Details |
Polly Ann and the Round Rocks:
Mineral Collecting and Camping in Southeastern Arizona!
April 8 – 10, 2025 | 
| It’s not a rock band; it’s a back-country rockhounding trip. Visit old mines and hard-to-reach sites in the New Mexico borderlands and Dragoon Mountains. There will be three days of mineral collecting at the Polly Ann Mine, the Round Mountain Rockhound Area, Cochise Stonghold and the Ligier Quarry where we will find green fluorite, chalcedony eggs and geodes, marble and blue lace agate. Museum Geology staff sprinkle in geology lessons on mineral veins, vugs, limestone formation, alteration zones, volcanics and granite intrusions. This is camping trip. The first night will be under the stars, on top of a basalt flow; the second will be under the oaks and granite outcrops. Includes transportation and all meals except for the first day’s lunch. Prices and Registration Details |
Cholla Bud HarvestApril 12, 2025  | Participate in the centuries-old Sonoran Desert springtime ritual of harvesting cholla buds. You will collect, learn how to de-thorn and to prepare this food for longer-term storage by drying or pickling. We will demonstrate cooking a few dishes that incorporate the buds. The flavor is mild, something like asparagus. The natural history of the cholla and its sister cactus the prickly pear will be discussed, along with the health benefits of desert foods in general. Prices and Registration Details |
Venomous Creatures of the Sonoran Desert
April 19, 2025  | The Sonoran Desert is home to a wide variety of venomous reptiles and arthropods and myths about them abound, yet only a handful are capable of producing medically significant injuries in people. Spend the morning learning which creatures are truly dangerous, how to identify them, avoid their bites and stings, and provide appropriate first aid. The class will discuss common myths and answer your questions about these interesting animals while providing the opportunity to view some of them up close. Prices and Registration Details |
Arizona’s Hummingbirds: Jewels of the Southwest
April 24, 2025  | A hummingbird’s life history is an incredible miracle of evolution. They have the highest metabolic rate and the greatest metabolic range of any vertebrate. Everything from their iridescent plumage to their aerial acrobatics is a wonder to behold. Arizona has more species of hummingbird than any other state in North America. The smallest, the Calliope Hummingbird, as well as the largest, the Blue-throated Mountain-Gem, live here. We will look at their biology and behavior as well as garner tips on their identification. Prices and Registration Details |
All About Owls: Natural History of Arizona’s Owls
April 24, 2025 | _w5a0001.jpg)
| Arizona is home to both the smallest, the Elf Owl and the largest, the great Horned Owl. Not only are there significant differences in their size, but in their biology and behaviors as well. Owls are cryptic, more often heard than seen which has earned them an almost spiritual reputation. Suggestions on how to locate owls will be shared. Everything from their amazing hearing to their specialized eyesight are incredible adaptations. Although most owl species are fairly easy to distinguish, we will discuss the subtle differences in the look-alike species. Prices and Registration Details |
Borderlands Cats
April 25, 2025  | The Northern Jaguar Project teams up with la Tierra del Jaguar to give you the latest in big cat news! Learn about the ecology, behavior, and conservation of mountain lions, bobcats, ocelots, and jaguars. Explore each species' unique role within their ecosystems, their hunting and survival strategies, and the challenges they face due to habitat loss and human interactions. Attendees will learn about ongoing efforts to protect these wild cats and support biodiversity. The session will also highlight ways individuals and communities can contribute to conservation efforts to safeguard these vital predators. Price and Registration Details |
Botanical Gardens and Art Museums of Southern California
May 11 - 18, 2025  | Botanical art, Classical art and Gardens galore
Balboa Park, The Getty, need we say more…
This extraordinary 8-day tour takes us to San Diego and Los Angeles where we visit iconic botanical gardens and world-renown museums. Highlights in San Diego include Balboa Park, the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, and a memorable sunset dinner cruise on San Diego Bay. A stop at Oceanside allows a visit to Mission San Luis Rey, the “King of the Missions”. Led by museum expert guides, we have dedicated a full day to in-depth tours of The Huntington, and a half day to the LA County Botanical Gardens and Arboretum. The Norton Simon houses an astonishing collection of European art from the Renaissance to the 20th century as well as Southeast Asian art spanning 2000 years. Marvel at masterpieces by Cézanne, Monet and Van Gogh at The Getty. For an architectural gander, we visit the Gamble House, recognized as a masterpiece of the American Arts and Crafts movement. Accommodations in San Diego are at the Humphreys Half Moon Inn on Shelter Island and in Pasadena at the well-appointed Le Méridien. Exceptional dining experiences throughout, this tour is sure to captivate the senses! Tour leader is ASDM cultural conservationist Jesús García. Itinerary and Trip Details Price and Registration Details |
The Dinosaur Diamond Tour
May 28 – June 6, 2025  | Dinosaurs will be roaming the Desert Museum this winter, but 150 million years ago they roamed as far north as Colorado and Utah (and farther!). Join the Museum’s inaugural Dinosaur Diamond tour as we follow the Jurassic spoors left by these creatures. Explore trackways, quarries, museums, and learn about the paleoenvironments that these animals inhabited. As a very special component of this tour, we will be accompanied by vertebrate paleobiologist and paleoecologist, Advait M. Jukar, PhD. Dinosaur attractions include The Petrified Forest; the Mill Canyon, Copper Ridge and Tuba City trackways; the Eastern Utah State University Prehistoric Museum; the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry; the Utah Field House of Natural History; Dinosaur National Monument; the Dinosaur Journey Museum; and the Mygatt-Moore Quarry. For a little dino relief we explore oil production in Rangley, Colorado; contemplate rock art left by Fremont Culture people; visit the capitol of the Navajo Nation, Window Rock, New Mexico; and offer an optional boat trip down the Green River. The wonders of the Great West! Itinerary and Trip Details | |
|
|
| |
| |
