Arizona Heritage Center — Attraction in Tempe

Was just there for the Juneteenth celebration. For a state that has existed for 120 years, in a country that forcefully took the land less than 170 years ago, you will be surprised to hear that Mexicans have not played a role (significant or otherwise) in AZ heritage before or since. However, you will find pictures of Mexican peasants running in the Mexican desert to escape Mexico, several plaques mentioning “the Mexican problem”, and even a couple of installations speaking about how the local population was in “discovering” techniques used my Mexican and indigenous people for hundreds of years. You will see statues of Mexican miners and indigenous people on their knees while white men stand in super hero poses behind them. Teddy Roosevelt is spoken in high regard without any mention of his manifest destiny initiatives and the impact it had on the Mexicans in the state. Franklin Roosevelt is called a hero without speaking of his Mexican Repatriation Headquarters in the state.

The Juneteenth talks started by having two doctors start a panel to discuss being anti-racist. They did so by mentioning that when they told their friends and family that they were moving to Arizona, that they reassured their friends the people here were good and “only hated Mexicans”- which got a roar of laughter from the black and white crowd alike.

The next speaker came from ASU, where she was discussing her work recording the oral history of the people that lived here. Her slides showed prominent black and white leaders, an Asian family…and (of course) a mariachi.

Assimilation isn’t anti-racism. Being palatable to white people doesn’t make you a valid speaker on anti-racism & gaining allies by joining the anti-Mexican sentiment of your neighbors doesn’t make you better than racists- it makes you one of them…but congratulations on being let into their museum for a...

Beautiful location that puts you into the natural desert within the the heart Center of Tempe within the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.

Beautifully manicured courtyards surrounded in stylized rust red brick detailing as well as indegious AZ trees, shrubs and flowers additionally to the great exhibits found inside.

Definitely worth a gander just to enjoy and take in the surrounding natural beauty hidden within confines of our over heated urban jungle.

Remember what a shady tree feels like in late spring mid afternoon, feeling the freshly watered grass damp from the sprinklers, pressed against the foot arch that transcends our grounded experience as we connect our bare feet to the raw natural earth. Kick back and enjoy the risdual sensations by connecting to nature.

I've barely ,just experienced, this place and already I'm writing a dissertation on the surrounding environment as if it were some creative writing assignment.

I hope this finds you some motivation to come check to out solo or with family and friends only... Even if we grown, the fact remains that we can't talk to strangers 🤫 stranger danger means stop drop and roll for the...

More than impressed- this museum outshines any other museums in the area including the Phoenix science one. There's a large free parking lot with accessible spots. Outside, they have some old mining equipment and a fountain. Inside the museum, there's two stories of long stretching hallways- I'd allot 4-5 hours to soak it all in - so much to see!

On the first floor, on the right by the gift shop- they have a room on old Arizona road. From there, they have a room on gems (so pretty) and mining and two glass-walled rooms on history in Arizona. In front, there are glass displays of historical Arizona figures, etc.

On the second floor, they have a long winding hallways that takes you through UFO and the Phoenix Lights, historic moments in Arizona and wars in Arizona. What's really nice is it's not just ho-hum historical displays. They also have a lot of interpretive exhibits which go above and beyond. For example, they had a few model homes to resemble the era and one part of the exhibit even was themed to a city in the 1900s. Super cool.

Price was more than reasonable and there was so much to see. Also, employees were extremely kind...