Tucson Weekly: Museums (May 17

MUSEUMS

ARIZONA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 949 E. Second St. 628-5775. Continuing through September 15: Life of the Santa Cruz River looks at the archaeology, history, hydrology and biology of the Santa Cruz River environment. Rediscover Arizona's past with a walk-in guided tour Mondays and Fridays at 2 p.m. Admission is free and no reservations are required. Ongoing: One Hundred Years of Fashion: Social History and Self-Image, a series of exhibits displaying accessories women tolerated for the sake of fashion. Dueling Eagles: The U.S. War with Mexico presents a reinterpretation of the social, economic, and political conditions that led to the U.S. war with Mexico. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free.
ARIZONA STATE MUSEUM. UA campus, University Boulevard east of Park Avenue. 621-6302. The oldest and largest anthropology museum in the region brings to life the culture and history of the greater Southwest from the time of mammoth-hunters to the present. The museum's rich and varied collections are among the most significant resources in the nation for the study of Southwest anthropology. Continuing through May 26: Portraits in Cloth: Tohono O'odham Quilts of Goldie Richmond features quilts that depict the lifestyles of the Tohono O'odham people. Continuing through June: The Pottery Project: 20,000 Pots, 2,000 Years features an extensive American Indian pottery collection recently named an official project of Save America's Treasures. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free.
ARIZONA-SONORA DESERT MUSEUM. 2021 N. Kinney Road. 883-2702. www.desertmuseum.org. The museum ranks among the world's top 10 zoological sites, and features a large collection of native plants and wildlife. The museum also features a coati exhibit, pollinator gardens, a mountain lion exhibit and a hummingbird aviary among many other natural habitat displays. The Ancient Arizona interactive exhibit recreates fossils and gives museum visitors a chance to see what ancient Arizona was like 100 million years ago. Museum hours are 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Admission is $8.95, $1.75 for kids 6 to 12 and free for children 6 and under. Group discounts are available. Call 883-3022 for registration and information.
CENTER FOR CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY. UA campus, south of the pedestrian underpass at Speedway Boulevard and Park Avenue. 621-7968. Ex Libris: Ralph Gibson is a newly completed project by photographer Gibson that reflects his lifelong fascination with books and language made visible. The Book as Idea, The Book as Form addresses what a book might be and how it might function from the point of view of a small press that seeks to explore the form of the book as a partner to literature. The discussion takes place May 23 at 5:30 p.m. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
FLANDRAU SCIENCE CENTER AND PLANETARIUM. UA campus, University Boulevard east of Cherry Avenue. 621-STAR. The science center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, featuring a series of interactive exhibits and planetarium shows. Telescope viewing hours are 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for children under 13, and $4.50 for seniors.
FORT LOWELL MUSEUM. 2900 N. Craycroft Road. 885-3832. On permanent display: The View from the Barracks, a photographic exhibit allowing a look at the daily life of enlisted men in the garrisons of the Southwest; and We Served at Fort Lowell, an exhibit documenting army life at the fort.
SOSA-CARRILLO-FREMONT HOUSE MUSEUM. 151 S. Granada Ave. Carrillo's Chinese Gardens: The Chinese of Tucson exhibit presents Chinese history from the earliest arrivals in the 1870s to about 1912, focusing on the Chinese gardeners living at the base of A-Mountain. Century old artifacts representing areas of food preparation and service, recreation and health care are on display through September 11. The exhibit opens with a reception May 25 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Walking tour fee is $5 for adults. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free. Call 628-5774 for information.
TUCSON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM. 200 S. Sixth Ave. 792-9985. Make your own hum and toot tube May 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Come learn how to make a tamborine May 27 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Dinosaur Canyon by Rob Meyer Productions features four life-size dinosaurs ranging from 8 to 30 feet in length. This New West Gallery exhibit runs until 2003. Museum hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing. Admission is $3.50 for kids 2 to 16, $5.50 for adults and $4.50 for seniors. From 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, admission is only $2 per person. The third Sunday of every month is free for all. 200 S. Sixth Ave. 792-9985.
TUCSON MUSEUM OF ART. 140 N. Main Ave. 624-2333. Continuing through May 27: Color and Fire: Defining Moments in Studio Ceramics, 1950-2000. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $5, $4 for seniors, $3 for students 13 and up, and free for children 12 and under. Admission is free every Sunday.