ASU Local Attractions
Arizona Science Center
A relatively new Phoenix attraction, the Arizona Science Center is located in the downtown area. There over 300 hands-on permanent exhibits, as well as special changing exhibitions. A planetarium show and giant-screen films are also available for an additional charge to the admission price. People of all ages will have a great time exploring, learning and playing.
http://www.azscience.org 602.716.2099
Arizona Museum for Youth
Developed specifically for kids from birth through 12 years of age. World-class art hangs at children's eye level and is interspersed with hands-on craft, activity, and play areas.
http://www.arizonamuseumforyouth.com/Home.aspx 480.644.2467
Arizona State University Art Museum
The ASU Art Museum collects and presents works of art to stimulate, educate and delight a diverse audience. In particular, the ASU Art Museum strives to showcase contemporary art, new media, ceramics and other crafts, prints, art from Arizona and the Southwest and art of the Americas.
http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu 480.965.2787
Camelback Mountain
In central Phoenix stands one of the city's most prominent landmarks. Camelback Mountain is a favorite with more experienced hikers. It is a popular attraction, though, so it can get crowded. It is named Camelback Mountain because its shape resembles that of a camel lying down. It is the highest peak of the Phoenix Mountains.
http://phoenix.gov/PARKS/hikecmlb.html
Chase Field
Formerly known by the acronym BOB (Bank One Ballpark), it seats about 60,000 people and covers approximately 1,300,000 square feet. You can have lunch inside Chase Field at Friday's Front Row all year long, even when it is not a game day. Chase Field is home to the Arizona Diamondbacks, along with many other special events.
http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/ari/ballpark/index.jsp 602.462.6500
Deer Valley Rock Art Center
In May 2000 Phoenix named this wonderful attraction in the northwest part of the city a Phoenix Point of Pride. This is the location of the Hedgpeth Hills petroglyph site. There are more than 1,500 recorded petroglyphs on almost 600 boulders. Bring your binoculars! The center is operated by the ASU Department of Anthropology.
http://www.asu.edu/clas/shesc/dvrac/ 623.582.8007
Desert Botanical Garden
The Desert Botanical Garden is located in Papago Park in central Phoenix. This Phoenix Point of Pride combines desert plants with desert wildlife that can both be seen from short trails that are well marked. Items of interest are described in guidebooks. Check the events calendar for classes, workshops, concerts and more.
http://www.desertbotanical.org/ 480.941.1225
Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting
The Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting has almost an acre of fire history exhibits, with over 90 fully restored pieces of fire apparatus on display, dating from 1725 to 1969. It's one of our best kept secrets in the Valley of the Sun.
http://www.hallofflame.org 602.275.3473
Heard Museum
If you want to see and learn about the history and culture of Arizona, this Phoenix Point of Pride is a must see. Located in downtown Phoenix, it is one of the best places to experience the myriad cultures and art of Native Americans of the Southwest.
http://www.heard.org 623.344.2203
Mystery Castle
Mystery Castle is a Phoenix Point of Pride, named as such by the Phoenix Pride Commission. It was built by Boyce Luther Gulley, who abandoned his wife and daughter in 1930 after learning that he had tuberculosis. He travelled to Phoenix and started building a "castle" for the little girl he'd left behind. It isn't really a mystery, and it isn't really a castle. No ghosts here. Take this tour of a highly unusual home in South Phoenix built in the 1940s and 1950s.
http://phoenix.about.com/od/attractionsandevents/ss/mysterycastle.htm 602.268.1581
Orpheum Theatre
There are several worthy theatres in Phoenix, but the Orpheum might be the favorite simply because of the ambiance of the venue. It was originally built in 1929. The City of Phoenix bought the theatre in 1984 and it is the city's last remaining example of theatre palace architecture. The theatre was restored and re-opened in 1997. This Phoenix Point of Pride is the only theatre designated as historic in the Valley.
602.534.5600
Papago Park
Located near downtown Phoenix, there are many wonderful activities at Papago Park. Besides being a great urban retreat, there are fishing lagoons, a very popular municipal golf course, hiking trails, unique museums like the Hall of Flame fire fighting museum, and an archeological site. You probably will need a couple of days to enjoy all that this Phoenix Point of Pride has to offer.
http://phoenix.gov/parks/hikepapa.html 602.261.8318
Phoenix Art Museum
The Phoenix Art Museum has been open since 1959 and is one of the largest general visual arts institutions in the Southwest. The collection includes over 17,000 works and spans the centuries. The Phoenix Art Museum emphasizes American Art, Asian Art, European Art of the 14th-19th Centuries, Western American Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, Spanish Colonial and Latin American Art, 18th-20th Century Fashion Design, and the Thorne Miniature Rooms. There are also exhibits and special programs for the younger art lovers.
http://www.phxart.org 602.257.1222
Phoenix Zoo
This Phoenix Point of Pride is the nation's largest privately-owned nonprofit zoo. It has more than 1,300 animals, including 150 endangered or threatened birds, mammals and reptiles from around the world. The Arizona Trail at the Phoenix Zoo focuses on plants and animals of the American Southwest.
http://phoenixzoo.org 602.273.1341
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Five galleries and a sculpture garden make up the nucleus of this new facility. Additional exhibits of interest include displays of international art, architecture and design, with a predominant focus on hometown attributes.
http://www.smoca.org 480.874.4666
South Mountain Park
South Mountain Park is the world's largest municipal park covering 16,500 acres. Petroglyphs, hiking trails for all levels, biking, horseback riding and scenic drives and, of course, picnicking, are the most popular activities at this spot in southern Phoenix.
http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/PARKS/hikesoth.html
Piestewa Peak Recreational Area
Formerly known as Squaw Peak and right in the middle of Phoenix, you'll find one of the most popular places for climbing a mountain. There are two main attractions at this Phoenix Point of Pride: the Summit Trail and the Circumference Trail. It's 1.2 miles to the peak's summit and offers a spectacular view.
http://phoenix.gov/PARKS/hikephx.html
Symphony Hall
Since the doors to Symphony Hall first opened in 1972, millions of people have crossed the venue's welcoming threshold into a cultural and performance icon integral to the Valley's arts landscape. The multi-purpose Symphony Hall, home to The Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Opera and Ballet Arizona, is also the site for Broadway touring companies, a variety of dance productions, and appearances by popular entertainers.
http://www.phoenixsymphony.org 602.262.7272
Tempe Historical Museum
The Tempe Historical Museum is a center where the community comes together to celebrate Tempe's past and ponder the future. It is a community history museum that explores Tempe's identity and builds connections between residents and their community.
http://www.tempe.gov/museum 480.350.5100