SEEING STARS
View the sun and other stars through a special solar telescope by day, and at night explore the vastness of outer space in the Rotunda Museum at Lowell Observatory. You can also experience out-of-this-world programs including the outdoor Constellation Tour. Educators help you track planets, the moon and stars as you view these celestial bodies through different telescopes including the famous 24-inch Clark Refractor Telescope, which was built in 1896 and is still used today. Exhibits and multimedia shows at the Steele Visitor Center are open night and day. The biggest draw for the 80,000-plus annual visitors is the Pluto Discovery Telescope, a national treasure used in 1930 to discover Pluto. Visit www.lowell.edu or call 928-774-3358.
GARDEN PARTY
Enjoy a metamorphosis of your own when you step into The Arboretum at Flagstaff’s butterfly house where hundreds of free-flying butterflies native to northern Arizona dance in the cool breezes. Wander the arboretum’s grounds and gardens to discover what’s in bloom, and marvel at the views of the San Francisco Peaks. Learn even more about native plants when you tour with a docent. The Arb, as it is affectionately called by locals, seeks innovative solutions to the conservation issues affecting this high-altitude environment and shares those solutions with you. Check out the Summer Concert Series and more at www.thearb.org or call 928-744-1442.
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM
See history from outside your own lens when you explore Todo Unidos: The Hispanic Experience in Flagstaff, a special display at Pioneer Museum-Arizona Historical Society. The award-winning exhibit features a community largely ignored in northern Arizona’s traditional historic narrative. Permanent collections celebrate stories of local ranching, logging, transportation (think railroad) and pioneer life. Night at the Museum on the second Friday of every month is so popular that you’ll have to make reservations – that’s unheard of in Flagstaff! This month, that evening’s lecture examines the history of mead. Note that the museum is closed Sundays and holidays. Call 928-774-6272 or visit www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org.
CULTIVATE CULTURE
If you haven’t visited the Museum of Northern Arizona in awhile, now is the time. Recently, the museum unveiled the long-awaited renovation of its Native Peoples of the Colorado Plateau exhibit, making the museum even more of a northern Arizona must-see. An innovative approach to the curation of the project is being lauded nationwide and included consultation with 42 members of Colorado Plateau tribes to determine the exhibit’s themes and displays. Besides the celebrated cultural exhibit, the family-friendly museum also houses four other permanent collections that celebrate the geology, biology, art and people of the Colorado Plateau. Visit www.musnaz.org or call 928-774-5213.
DOUBLE YOUR FUN
Discover an outstanding example of American Arts and Crafts architecture while learning about two of Flagstaff’s early heavy hitters at Riordan Mansion State Historic Park. Two brothers, business leaders Tim and Michael Riordan, married two sisters, and in 1904, they built a compound of two adjoining homes. The rest is history. Today docents share that history as you tour the unique manor with its period décor including furnishings by Gustav Stickley, recognized as the father of the American Arts and Crafts movement. For tour times and special events, visit www.azstateparks.com or call 928-779-4395.
THIS SUMMER IN FLAGSTAFF
July 8: Historic Milton Walking Tour at Riordan Mansion State Historic Park; www.azstateparks.com/riordan-mansion
July 13: Metalachi in concert at the Orpheum Theater; www.orpheumflagstaff.com
July 15: Flagstaff Community Market held every Sunday in the Flagstaff City Hall parking lot from now until Oct. 21; www.flagstaffmarket.com
Aug. 4-5: 69th Annual Navajo Festival of Arts & Culture at Museum of Northern Arizona; www.musnaz.org
Aug. 4: Arizona Mead and Cider Festival at Pioneer Museum-Arizona Historical Society; www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3034356
Stacey Wittig is an award-winning travel writer and author located in Flagstaff, Arizona. For more travel & world-wide adventures visit Stacey’s website at unstoppablestaceytravel.com.
