Even if you’ve never visited the International Wildlife Museum before, you have likely passed it if you have ever headed out west towards Old Tucson Studios, the Saguaro National Park or the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum.
The International Wildlife Museum is built like a castle complete with a drawbridge bridge and moat pond. The water out front is great because the boys enjoy checking out the fish, turtles and toads on our way into and out of the museum.
My two favorite things about the International Wildlife Museum?
It’s indoors.
We have lots of great places to visit in Tucson but in the summer heat most can be pretty unbearable. The International Wildlife Museum is air conditioned fun!
It’s interactive.
There are things to walk under and crawl through, not to mention lots of hands-on kid friendly things to explore!
The International Wildlife Museum features over 400 bird, insect and mammal species; there is plenty to see and they will likely have one your favorites on display.
Note I do affectionately call this the “dead animal museum”. Most everything is stuffed, donated by conservation groups, zoos, etc. Just fair warning in case you can’t tell by my pictures and are expecting more of a zoo…
Thankful the museum starts with a large insect room. The boys ran around checking out all the bugs and weren’t too intimidated by them.
Moving further into the museum encountering the mammals caused some concerns at first for Elliot who was certain they were alive and might attack.
Sort of a flight or flight response I guess. Luckily he was content to hang out in daddy’s arms until he was sure the museum was “safe.”
Besides the animals on display, there are also exhibits highlighting various types of animal fur, eyes, teeth, eggs and scat (poop)!
The boys loved pushing the buttons and watching the different animal eyes light up. Some of them are quite creepy!
Feeling the various types of fur and trying to guess the animal is also cool. Don’t worry the poop is not touchable.
There is no restaurant on site but they do have good sized eating area and you can bring your own snacks to enjoy. The gift shop also sells a few snack items along with fountain soda.
The museum is open year round (except Christmas and Thanksgiving) from 9am–5pm, Monday through Friday and 9am-6pm Saturday and Sunday.
Prices are reasonable. Adults are only $8, Military and Seniors only $6, kids 4-12 $3 and kids under 3 are free. Check out their facebook page for special events and discounts.
Vikki says
My sister went with her kids last year and they really enjoyed it too. It’s a nice place when it gets hot!