Rock Art Center to offer guided tours in January

January is the perfect time in Arizona to get out and see the sights – and at the Deer Valley Rock Art Center, the sights include petroglyphs.

Deer Valley Rock Art Center will offer guided tours of the site’s more than 1,500 petroglyphs Saturdays, Jan. 8, 15, 22 and 29, from 10 to 11 a.m. each day. (DVRAC is closed Jan. 1.)

Visitors also will enjoy the scenery at DVRAC, which is a nature preserve, and informational exhibits in the museum.

The tour is included with regular admission. Tickets are $7 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for children over 5. Children 5 and younger are free. AAA members receive an additional 10 percent discount.

The Deer Valley Rock Art Center has the largest concentration of Native American petroglyphs in the Phoenix Valley. Visitors hike a 1/4-mile trail to view the petroglyphs, which were made between 500 and 7,000 years ago.

The museum aims to promote preservation, connection and respect for the site and is a destination for families to learn about archaeology in their own backyard. The center is managed by one of the top archaeology programs in the country – the School of Human Evolution & Social Change, an academic unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – at Arizona State University. DVRAC is a Phoenix Point of Pride.

The center is located at 3711 W. Deer Valley Road, two blocks west of 35th Avenue.

Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday and 12 p.m.-5 p.m., on Sundays. For more information, call (623) 582-8007 or go to http://dvrac.asu.edu.