5 Family-Friendly Activities in Tucson, AZ
When it comes to activities in Tucson, there’s so much to do that they have a booklet full of coupons called the Tucson Passport. The booklet is about $20 per person and is a fantastic deal for all that it offers! Here are 5 family-friendly activities in Tucson that are included in the passport that our family enjoyed:
*Biosphere 2 Center– The kids were thrilled to take a tour! They loved seeing the variety of ecosystems all under one roof. There’s lots of walking involved, including some stairs, but totally worth taking the tour! We enjoyed seeing where scientists have lived, worked and researched under one roof. The tour is about an hour and a half.
Biosphere2
*Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum– Probably my favorite of them all! The kids were fascinated by the animals, cacti, plants, and much more. It’s not like any museum you’ve ever seen. It’s outdoors with a cave to model and explain the caves in the area. Stop outside the cave for hunting for minerals. Let the kids chisel away at the earth science overlook as they work to discover dinosaur fossils and trilobites. The museum also includes an aviary (hummingbird and normal), aquarium, cactus garden, etc. We spent about 4 hours and felt like we were rushing through some of it.
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
*Pima Air and Space Museum– One of the largest aviation museums, it’s not without oohs and ahhs. The museum is comprised of multiple indoor hangars and outside exhibits displaying over 300 aircrafts- ranging in time period and significance. There’s a special tour that drives a bus through the aircraft graveyard. There is a separate fee for that tour. There’s a gift shop and a play/learning area for the kids. The kids got extremely tired being exposed to the heat so just beware. The tour was self-guided and took us about two to three hours.
Pima Air and Space Museum
*Titan Missile Museum– The tour is guided and lasts about an hour. You’ll find yourself underground in the bones of the facility where there is an actual missile. NOTE: The missile is not active! The kids loved trying to move the blast doors, asking the guide tons of questions and getting to see the inside of the missile silo. Justin loved helping out the guide in the launch control center. They also pose a simulated missile launch. That creeped out the boys a little bit but they had a blast!
Titan Missile Museum
*Kitt Peak Observatory– This is a GREAT family activity! The guide takes you to see the various optical telescopes used by astronomers on a daily basis. I thought it was interesting that they actually live on the premises for a certain period of time. There is a lot of walking and some climbing stairs. It’s a lot of information spread out over about a period of an hour. The guide is extremely knowledgeable. On a clear day, you can see for miles around and you may see the telescopes being used.
Kitt Peak Observatory
Again, there are so many things to do that you just have to pick and choose. These are the activities that we chose and were very pleased with them. What are your favorites? For more information on the Tucson Passport, click on the following link: http://www.tucsonattractions.com.
