The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum consists of self-guided trails that demonstrate the wild desert animals and plants commonly found in the Arizona area, such as a cactus garden that displayed many varieties of cacti and birds, like owls. It takes about 3 hours to see the whole museum. The majority of the walking is done outside, so bring plenty of water and try to get there in the morning. The museum was very interesting and informative. They also had hands-on exhibits for the kids to touch and play with, like an archaeology site where they donned goggles and shovels in search of undiscovered treasures. A favorite for us was seeing the animals. They had various big cats, like bobcats and ocelots; sheep; otters; beavers; and prairie dogs, which were adorable and very entertaining.
We had visited the Phoenix Zoo earlier in the week, but the Sonora Desert Museum was by far much better, as the animals were out and walking through the desert-like conditions that made the experience realistic.
For more information, here is the web address for the museum: www.desertmuseum.org