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- Family Fun in the Sun
Roaming around Tucson on vacation can offer families the activities and pastimes that keep everybody entertained. Interesting museums, exciting theme parks, enriching cultural and heritage events, and a wealth of natural beauty make a Tucson vacation an enjoyable and memorable experience for all ages. And the kids don’t have to be adventurous to enjoy Tucson. They just have to like fun.
At the top of the list for kids and adults alike is the world-renowned Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. For families who want to really get out in nature, the east and west locations of our National Park have loop roads for driving and bicycling, and hiking trails, picnic areas, and big rocks for scrambling. Adventurers who are not claustrophobic will enjoy guided tours at two Tucson-area caves. Colossal Cave Mountain Park has crystal-filled caverns, which once sheltered stagecoach robbers, and a gemstone-sluicing area, a small museum, and nature trails. Families with children older than seven can reserve tickets for a tour of the massive, multi-colored cave formations at Kartchner Caverns State Park, a spectacular, underground wilderness area south of Tucson.
If the kids want to see living lions, tigers, and bears, the Reid Park Zoo has them, along with a walk-through aviary and giraffe feedings every morning. At the International Wildlife Museum, families can browse taxidermy displays and giant dioramas featuring more than 400 kinds of mammals, birds, and insects from around the world.
At the Tucson Children’s Museum, kids can play for hours at a variety of hands-on, educational exhibits, such as the new Discovery Center, which teaches about marine life across the border at the Sea of Cortez.
Unique science exhibits and programs for all ages are at Flandrau Science Center and University of Arizona Mineral Museum, on the University of Arizona campus. For aviation fans, Pima Air and Space Museum is a must-see, with more than 200 vintage and modern aircraft, and a Space Gallery where kids can view a real moon rock and explore the geology of Mars. The world’s largest collection of optical telescopes is located southwest of Tucson at Kitt Peak National Observatory. The observatory’s Web site has information on age-appropriate tours, programs, and special events.
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