One of our group had been here before and recommended it. I was initially confused as we'd seen a…read morelarge 'aircraft boneyard' / parking lot en route into Tucson from Phoenix. However, that it not associated with this place. This is a large museum located a few miles southeast of downtown Phoenix. They have 5 hangars with displayed aircraft plus a large collection of planed parked outdoors in several long rows. They do NOT allow backpacks or have storage for them. Leave these in your car (concealed) or you'll have to go back to do so. Not a complaint, just a fact. Some / most of their parking lot has awnings, which is nice for keeping your car somewhat cooler in the Arizona sun. In addition to the general admission, they have other options including a narrated tram tour of the outdoor aircraft. We added this on, but there may also be other side-tours. We added this to our itinerary. You begin in the main hangar, which is the largest. Here they have a large array of planes on display (on the ground and suspended from the ceiling). Among the many displays were an SR-71, an A-10 Warthog, a couple of large flying boat military aircraft, multiple military helicopters, etc. We spent almost an hour here. The tram tour boards at a 2nd hangar, so we visited that before boarding. They had some spacecraft (Apollo capsule?) and a Blackhawk helicopter, plus other displays. The tram tour ran about 45 minutes and was interesting. It would be exhausting to do this on foot, given the area. Among the displays were a couple of planes that served as Air Force One, a B-52, an enormous amphibious transport plane, and some F-16s. There were MANY others. After the tram tour, we visited an additional hangar (operated separately from the museum) housing a B-17 with associated displays. This is staffed by enthusiastic volunteers. It was worthwhile and merited a separate donation. Before they started closing for the day we managed to visit 2 more hangars (we ran out of time for the final one). We got to see a B-29 (the type of craft that carried the atomic bombs to Japan), and more WWII-vintage planes. About the only thing they did NOT have which I'd like to have seen was a Spitfire. Maybe one was in the final building. If you have any interest in military history or aircraft, this is a highly worthwhile stop.

Really big, fun museum. I have no special love of aircraft, but my son and husband do, so I tagged…read morealong. I still had a great time and enjoyed all the cool aircraft. Go early or in the winter because it gets hot and a lot of the exhibits are outside. If I had one complaint it would be that there weren't very many aircraft you could go inside. I'm sure this is a liability they have to weigh-- but I've lived other similar museums that had a lot more opportunities to go inside airplanes. Very nice gift shop. Cafe looked nice-- but didn't try it. I'm

Grateful to Yelp for inviting us Yelpers to come for the Momentos series at TMA, a celebration of…read moreArizona's Biennial Artists. What a stunning collection of local artists and their art. In addition to the beautiful artwork we could peruse, there was snacks and mangonadas, a DJ, and drinks. One of the museum staff also walked us through an activity to discuss and share our reactions to the art. I loved that she made it feel approachable, even for folks like me who are not art experts. My husband is a big art lover and ended up buying a membership before we left. Can't wait to come back to explore the rest of the collection! Highly recommend stopping by for the Momentos series this summer.

I loved the art so I give two stars instead of one, but my rating is only so low because of the…read morestaff member who made my group feel unwelcome. It's important to note that our group was visibly made up of women of color, and we are all mostly hispanic and indigenous. For the first hour, we encountered staff members and security who just seemed like they were doing their jobs normally. No staring, no following, just observing and moving within their sections. But as we moved into the last section before the gift shop, we encountered a staff member who left a bad taste in our mouths. He was on his phone and ignoring the other (white) people in his section, but as soon as we walked in he stared really intensely at us and immediately stood up. He spent the next 45 minutes following us from room to room, making intense eye contact with us and keeping his arms crossed. If one of us moved out of his line of sight (I moved behind a pillar briefly) he moved quickly to see what we were doing. I understand he was keeping museum property safe, but we were following proper museum etiquette and nothing we were doing warranted that reaction. We kept our voices lowered, moved slowly, didn't get too close to items, etc. People of color are used to being treated with suspicion in many spaces, so I can assure you we know what it looks like when someone is keeping an eye on us. I thought it was in poor taste, though, to treat us, Mexican and indigenous women, like that, especially when we were in an art gallery viewing art by Latin American and indigenous artists. It gives the wrong impression and made us feel unwelcome when we were there to view and celebrate our own art and culture. I'm not writing this out of spite, but hopefully the museum can make sure their staff members do not continue to treat people of color differently than all people should be treated...especially when they display our art.

We enjoyed our tour of the Titan II Missile museum and silo. Our guide, Seth, was knowledgeable,…read morefriendly AND funny! He made it an interactive, fun experience. Kind of scary to know that back in the day we could launch a missile in 58 seconds... and you can't stop it once it's gone! Put this on your list of things to do in Tucson for sure!

We thoroughly enjoyed this museum, especially the knowledgeable guides, interactive displays and…read morerich cold war history. There is so much to see and do here, plan on 90 minutes at least. You definitely should consider pre-purchasing your tickets for the tour undergroun early so you have more choices of the time that you do it. They will sell out most days. There isn't much to do here besides that tour, so plan accordingly. This was really fun and educational, would highly recommend for anyone school aged and up.

Loved the show Loved the museum…read moreIt was fun, informative, and memorable This is the show that is at the original location of the OK Corral

We attempted to see the 1 pm gun show, after driving two hours, since the website says 11 am/1 pm/3…read morepm. However, the hours changed. The extremely rude ticket girl said, well the website says subject to change. Websites are not that hard to update on a regular basis. Plus, since it seems to be a seasonal thing, maybe say "different hours in March/April, call ahead." So, if you want to see this gun show, I suggest you call. We could have waited until the next show, but the ticket girl was so rude and unapologetic, we chose not to. Luckily, we were able to see the historically accurate Saloon Theatre gun show across the street instead, and the people were much nicer.

"Mars 'aint the kind of place to raise your kids." But, Kitt Peak National Observatory is the kind…read moreof place you want to take someone who is a kid at heart to. (*I know, I know...I just broke the rule about not finishing a sentence with a preposition, and it sounded a bit awkward. My bad. I'll try to write more-gooder from now on.) Captain's Log: Star date May 1st, 2026. The entire crew of the Star ship, "Wait for the Western Wind*" thoroughly enjoyed the experience. (*That's is the name that I christened to the van that we rented) We have now returned safely to home base, and our journey of exploration can only be described as a success. All mission-objectives have been achieved...the goals of having fun, joining together for a little family camaraderie, and fulfilling a quest for knowledge were all clearly met. Sadly, I must report that I did fail at one of the mission's intended targets...that being: my finding a way to work-in a joke about the 7th planet from the G2V star located in the Arm of Orion, in the "Via Lactea" (latin for Milky Way) galaxy. As I get older, I have found that discretion, indeed, is the better part of valor. So, when our guide (Sam--who was wonderful) asked the group that she was leading if there was anything that we hoped to see that night, I pulled my hand back down quickly... realizing, at that moment, that a joke about "Uranus" would most-likely, "land" like the 1967 Apollo 1 tragedy. The carbon-based humanoid life forms that inhabit the rocky crevices of I'oligam Du'ag possess advanced intelligence. As they spoke about the numerous telescopes, history of the area, and shared their deep knowledge of the wonders of space, they all exhibited kindness and patience, as well as a passionate enthusiasm for the work being done there. I also observed, on a number of well-timed occasions, that they were prone to "launching" some corny paternal-space-exploration humor. The one about being careful to not put Saturn in a bathtub--because it might leave a ring...(Ha!) that one would cause a, "super-nova of laughter" from here to Andromeda (M31): "Ground control to Major Tom". Here are two bits of advice to fellow travelers who might choose to boldly go where no human (in your family) has gone before (to the Kitt Peak Observatory)... Dress warmly and maybe bring a blanket. It was a balmy day in Tucson, but at 6,880 ft up, you will find yourself beneath the night sky of the exposed high desert and quick drops in temperatures happen as the Jackson Pollack-painted sky comes to light. Secondly, don't be like the guy who, as the night was wrapping up, got into his car, turned on his car lights, and pulled away from the presentation prematurely. What a, "back side of a black hole" move! There are easy-to-follow guidelines that have been set up to protect the experiments from white lights. If we all show a little cooperation, we all succeed. That kind of behavior is not to be tolerated, so we all agreed that the laser-guided missile launch that followed was completely justified. (I'm kidding!--we just watched as he drove away and his tail lights disappeared on the horizon--wondering to ourselves, "What kind of parents raise a person like that?") I will now close by putting our experience into a, summarized "capsule": "It was was a 'blast'!" The night indeed, was very memorable and enjoyable-- on many levels. And, I am glad that we signed on for the mission. So...fellow Earth beings, Take your protein pills and put your helmet on (Ten) Ground Control (Nine) to Major Tom (Eight, seven) (Six) Commencing (Five) countdown, engines on (Four, three, two) Check ignition (One) and may God's love (Lift off) be with you Oh, one final shout out. Back in the late 1950's, the Tohono O'odham Nation, (meaning "Desert People,") graciously allowed for the construction and use of the observatory on one of their most-treasured and sacred mountains. This should be acknowledged and respectfully appreciated as one travels there.

If you live in Arizona or are visiting, Kitt Peak is a must do at least once. The science and…read moreastronomy community we have here are doing great things! It was fascinating to hear about the history of Kitt Peak and the contributions Arizona has made. The telescopes are huge and amazing to see up close and the docents that lead the tours are all extremely knowledgeable.

AZ 01-2024 Bisbee Arizona Copper Mines these are called the Lavendar Pits. Located in Bisbee, when…read moreI first saw thought it was another grand canyon but this was man created and very sad to see. Some people see beauty but I see destruction. To me it was all very sad!

The Lavender Pit is a former open pit copper mine that ran from 1950 to 1974. During that time, 86…read moremillion tons of ore was excavated (600,000 tons of it was copper). Turquoise was also found in this pit and is sold in Bisbee. The pit is 900 feet deep and has a toxic reddish blue water pool at the bottom. The Lavender Pit was named in honor of the general manager of Phelps Dodge Corporation Harrison M. Lavender (1890-1952). Phelps Dodge Corporation are the ones that opened the Lavender Pit in the 50's. You can view the Lavender Pit at a scenic stop on highway 80. It is a quick stop and there is plenty of places to park. There is information about the pit and a WW2 memorial at the scenic stop. For photos, there are a few large holes in the chain link fence that you can take pictures with your camera. It's worth a short visit to see the depths of the Lavender Pit and the colors that make up its steep walls.

This review is for the gift shop! We came to the shop on the way out of town as we'd found they…read moresold a local book one of our group wanted. The gentleman up front was very nice as was the woman in the shop. We snagged the last copy -- which was also signed! - then proceeded to pick up some souvenirs. They have a really nice selection of local books, art, crystals, and items like miners tags. I got a really cute little tree made of copper wire and green stones, and a mixed silver and copper ring. Recommend stopping by even if you don't have time for the museum. Its a nice little shop and as a Smithsonian affiliate, there's no tax!

Steve was our tour guide and he was awesome! He spent his whole career working in the mines, so the…read morestories and details he shared really brought everything to life. Honestly, this was the best mine tour we've done in Arizona. You check in about 30 minutes before the tour. There's a little shop to browse, a spot to sit, and a short movie in the back that gives you a great background on the mine and how copper is made. The tour itself is about an hour, all underground. You ride in on a little train that you sit on kind of like a bike, and the temperature stays a cool mid-60s the whole time. They give you a hard hat, light, safety vest, and even a number tag - just like real miners use - so they know nobody gets left behind. Along the way, the train stops a few times so you can get off, check out artifacts, and walk into different areas while Steve tells more stories. When you come back up to the surface, have your sunglasses ready - the sunlight feels unbelievably bright after being underground. It was the highlight of our full day in Bisbee and something you do NOT want to miss.

If you want to visit the museums you first have to go through a security check. You must enter the…read moreVan Deman Gate (East Gate), park your vehicle in a lot to the right, then go into the Visitor Control Center (VCC). You take a number and an information sheet to fill out. You need your drivers license and know your SS number. You will then be called by number to go to a window to be interviewed by Security. Once they verify your identity, they will photograph you and issue a security pass(good for 30 days) that will give you access to the base and the Museum Buildings. This Buffalo Soldier Museum is dedicated to the history of the U.S. Army in the American Southwest. Of particular importance, it tells the story of the Army's 10th Cavalry Regiment, the fighting unit more famously known as the Buffalo Soldiers, the all-Black regiment established immediately after the Civil War. After the Civil War, the U.S. Army formed regiments of Negro men, most of whom were former slaves, and many of whom had served in the United States Colored Troops (U.S.C.T.). The cavalry units were the 9th and 10th Cavalry, and the infantry were the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st which several years later were consolidated into the 24th and 25th infantry units. Black infantry troops often fought side-by-side with the black cavalry. These African-American soldiers were called "buffalo soldiers" by the Plains Indians. No one today is quite certain why. Some say it was because the men were as rugged as buffalo and others say that it was because the Indians saw a resemblance between the Black soldier's hair and the buffalo's shaggy coat. It has also been pointed out that many Black soldiers favored long buffalo-robe coats. Although the name was primarily applied to the cavalry, it was sometimes extended to include the Black infantry. After the Civil War, African Americans faced horrific discrimination. Some men enlisted to escape hopeless poverty and gain a certain respect, even though they were segregated from White troops. The Buffalo Soldiers fought in the Plains Indian Wars, the Apache Wars, the Spanish-American War, and The Punitive Mission against Mexico ordered by President Wilson and led by General John Pershing. Pershing had earned his nickname, 'Black Jack,' by leading Black regiments early in his career. By all accounts, these Black regiments distinguished themselves in service to their country, despite being given inferior horses and equipment.

Worth the work to get on base to see. We had to stop and get a special security pass. All staff…read morewere helpful and professional. The museums and surrounding historic buildings were great to visit and see. Interesting and proud history. Thanks to all the serve