Museums & Galleries in New River

Sprawling across 392 acres and home to thousands of unusual plant and animal species, the Boyce Thompson Arboretum is far from a standard classroom. Here, people learn through exploration rather than through textbooks; they’re able to smell the plants they study and ask native squirrels for direct quotes about soil quality. Jaunts through the park cover a range of terrain. Butting up against the northern face of Picketpost Mountain, the park encompasses canyons, hills, and trails carefully landscaped to duplicate arid environments from around the globe. The cactus garden features plants both sinuous and spiny, creating a vast collection of shapes and textures nestled into the dusty red landscape. Queen Creek Canyon provides respite from the sun, its towering trees thriving in the cool shade. Visitors pick up tips on how to enhance their own yards in the demonstration garden of drought-tolerant plants, which are relatively easy to care for except for when they demand chocolate milk. Additional education can be found in classes and lectures held at the Smith Interpretive Center.

Nestled within 18,500 square feet and designed by award-winning architect Will Bruder, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art's quintet of galleries—formerly a cineplex's five theaters—have hosted changing and permanent exhibitions of art, architecture, and design since 1999. The outdoor sculpture garden features acclaimed pieces such as James Turrell's experiential Knight Rise skyspace and James Carpenter Design Associates' Scrim Wall. After viewing the art outside, visitors can return indoors to explore furnishings and jewelry in the shop or examine work by local youth in the young@art gallery. The museum's Visions Teen Program continues to nurture burgeoning talent, pairing teenagers with visual-art teachers and visiting artists. Adults can also enrich their artistic know-how at lectures and workshops until they are able to draw a perfect circle with a pencil still tucked behind their ear. The museum's lounge fosters artistic communities through events ranging from screenings of international art movies to art-making sessions.

If you listen carefully on the grounds of Pioneer Arizona Living History Museum, the air holds whispers from the past that come to life through the mouths of costumed interpreters from the late 19th century. The 90-acre town is rife with both authentic buildings and accurate reproductions that host guest adventurers and Western-style dramas several times a week. Visitors mosey through a blacksmith shop and an 1890s-era dress shop. There's even a sheriff's office complete with jail for old-timey scofflaws who committed crimes of the day, like horse theft or saloon theft. Fixtures of Arizona history feature throughout the village, from a cabin that survived the state's bloodiest range war to the opera house where famed chanteuse Lilly Langtry sang. Regular events in the village include sheriff and bandit shows, Civil War reenactments, and gun fight reenactments that replicate historic "BANG" signs popping out from the muzzle of a rifle.