The mission of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is to inspire people to live in harmony with the natural world by fostering love, appreciation, and understanding of the Sonoran Desert.
After several years of planning and a year of construction, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's new Warden Aquarium opened in January, 2013.
When Tucson residents and visitors visualize the Sonoran Desert it's unlikely that images of massive rivers with six-foot minnows, or oceans teeming with whales, stingrays, eels, and thousands of invertebrates come to mind. Yet, a full understanding of the Sonoran Desert region isn't possible without recognizing the importance of the freshwater rivers that flow through it and the Sea of Cortez which are critical to this desert's status as the lushest desert on earth.
Our goal is to inform our visitors about the issues our desert and ocean are facing and to inspire them to take action.
Raptor Free Flight!
The most extraordinary birds of prey exhibition in the United States!
October 19, 2013 through April 20, 2014 — Shows daily at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Why this presentation is so impressive …
- The birds fly so close you can feel the brush of feathers as they whiz by!
- The birds fly completely untethered, without any jesses (leg straps) and most often without leg rings.
- Presentations occur in the open desert, not in an amphitheater!
- It features the only raptor species in the world that hunt as a family using strategy, like wolves!
- Only birds native to the Sonoran Desert region are flown in the demonstrations.
- Different birds fly in each show (10 a.m. and 2 p.m.) so each show is unique.
Watch as these amazing aerialists soar and swoop in their native desert habitat while a narrator describes their attributes, habitats and behaviors.