MUST SEE Arizona Attractions - Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff

The Museum of Northern Arizona was founded in 1928 by Dr. Harold Sellers Colton, a zoologist, and Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton, an artist. Its mission to inspire a sense of love and responsibility for the beauty and diversity of the Colorado Plateau is accomplished through collecting, studying, interpreting, and preserving the region’s natural and cultural heritage.

MNA’s area of mission, the Colorado Plateau or Four Corners region, is home to ten Native tribes and encompasses 130,000 square miles of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, including the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, Bryce and Zion National Parks, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

The Museum of Northern Arizona houses over 600,000 artifacts in its permanent collections of anthropology, biology, geology, and fine arts; extensive federal and tribal research collections; and significant library and archival collections. MNA’s new Easton Collection Center is LEED Platinum Certified, a sustainable green building with state-of-the-art storage facilities. It is sensitive to cultural needs, is aesthetically pleasing, and provides enhanced access for visitors and researchers.

Since 1930, MNA’s annual Heritage Program has fostered communication and the exchange of ideas between cultures by offering an in-depth mix of art, music, performances, and Heritage Insights programs. In 2012, the Museum will host Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo Festivals of Arts and Culture, and Celebraciones de la Gente, a Day of the Dead celebration honoring Flagstaff’s Hispanic pioneers. This year, MNA will present the 79th Annual Hopi Festival, the oldest Hopi art show in the world, which has won the American Bus Association’s Top U.S. Event Award from ABA’s Top 100 Events.

MNA has nine exhibit galleries. The Archaeology Gallery explores prehistoric cultures and displays a kiva mural fragment from an ancient Hopi village called Awatovi. The Ethnology Gallery highlights the living cultures of the region―the Hopi, Navajo, Pai, and Zuni people. The Kiva Gallery offers a modern Hopi kiva mural by Michael Kabotie and Delbridge Honanie, and Hopi katsina dolls. The Jewelry Gallery displays Hopi overlay, Navajo silver and turquoise, Zuni fetish carvings, and stone necklaces from Western Pueblo tribes. The Babbitt Gallery features Southwestern Native ceramic traditions. And the Geology Gallery features a life-size skeletal model of Dilophosaurus, a carnivorous dinosaur from the region. MNA’s three special exhibit galleries offer exciting, new displays that change frequently.

The Museum is located three miles north of historic downtown Flagstaff on Highway 180. It is one hour south of the Grand Canyon and two hours north of Phoenix.

Educational experiences can be arranged in advance, including tours of the Museum galleries and grounds led by skilled docents, outdoor adventures onto the Colorado Plateau, and youth activities and summer camps.

The Museum Shops presents authentic, museum-quality Native fine arts from Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni artists. The Bookstore carries an extensive selection of Southwestern books and gifts for both adults and children.

The Museum of Northern Arizona is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day. Admission is $10 adults, $9 seniors (65+), $7 students (with ID), $6 youths (10–17), and $6 American Indians. There are special rates for group tours and free admission for Museum members.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE MUSEUM OF NORTHERN ARIZONA WEBSITE