Skip to main content

Rock Art Center reaches out to community


February 08, 2013

Arizona State University’s Deer Valley Rock Art Center draws tourists from around the globe but is still something of a secret to locals.

Earlier this week, the Deer Valley Times took a look at this enigma and talked with the center’s director, Kim Arth, about her efforts to connect the community to this unique location.

Built in 1994 to protect the Hedgpeth Hills petroglyph site – the largest collection of Native American rock art in the Phoenix area – the center is an archaeological museum, nature preserve and cultural heritage site. It offers a variety of fun and educational opportunities throughout the year, like scavenger hunts for kids; wildflower and desert bird tours; lectures; summer camps; and its biggest annual event, the free, family friendly Archaeology Expo, being held this year on March 23.

While many of the center’s visitors are from Canada or Europe, it’s the local community director Kim Arth is trying to court with programming and exhibits based on nearby locales and subjects of immediate interest to Phoenix's desert dwellers.

“We’re reaching out to locals who have lived here for a long time and never knew that we were here,” she said. “When they do discover us, they always want to come back.”

The center is managed by the School of Human Evolution and Social Change in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Hours through April are 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday. Admission is $7 for adults; $4 for seniors, students, and members of the military; $3 for children 6-12; and free for children 5 and younger, ASU students, and museum members. The museum and quarter-mile petroglyph trail are wheelchair accessible.

Deer Valley Rock Art Center is located at 3711 W. Deer Valley Road. For more information, call 623-582-8007.

Article source: Deer Valley Times

More ASU in the news

 

Arizona State University helping prepare people for careers in growing semiconductor industry

Matthew McConaughey and ASU are helping an Arizona school district. Here's how

We need to address the generative AI literacy gap in higher education