More than 400,000 people will visit the 蜜柚直播-Sonora Desert Museum this year. Chances are they will leave with 400,000 different memories to share with their friends back home, but describing just what the museum is may not be so easy.
Is the Desert Museum a zoo? An aquarium? An arboretum? An art gallery? A science center?
The answer is 鈥測es,鈥 it is all those things, which is why the recently published 鈥淭reasured Legacies鈥 is such an ambitious 鈥 and noteworthy 鈥 addition to the library of 蜜柚直播 literature.
Released in September by 蜜柚直播-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 鈥淭reasured Legacies鈥 was selected as one of the Southwest鈥檚 Books of the Year by the Pima County Public Library.
It is as hard to summarize as the museum itself; more than an artist鈥檚 portfolio, more than an album of photos, more than a written history.
People are also reading…
It is all those things, all in 77 pages that would work just as well in your bookcase as on the coffee table.
鈥淓very time you go to the museum you notice things you hadn鈥檛 seen before,鈥 said co-collaborator Anne Warner. 鈥淎fter you鈥檝e seen the animals, you notice the artwork. You see the sculptures and read the poetry. You hear what the docents are teaching the kids while they鈥檙e letting them touch a snake. The museum is lots of things. We wanted the book to be lots of things, too.鈥
Warner, a museum volunteer since 2011, was the editor. Other collaborators include Priscilla Baldwin, who co-founded the ASDM Art Institute; Peggy Larson, the ASDM librarian and archivist; and Craig Ivanyi, its executive director.
Their interests and influences are woven together throughout the book, most visibly by the scratchboard portraits of desert animals by Baldwin.
鈥淭he book is driven by her art,鈥 Warner said. 鈥淪ince the museum鈥檚 earliest days, (co-founder) Bill Carr wanted a natural history art museum to be an important part of what we do. He believed art helped tell our story. It always has.鈥
鈥淭reasured Legacies鈥 is a natural complement to another Desert Museum publication, 鈥淎 Scrapbook,鈥 written by Larson and first published by the museum in 2001. It used photos and short stories to lead readers through the museum鈥檚 history.
鈥淭reasured Legacies鈥 invites readers to look closely at Baldwin鈥檚 scratchboards, which in turn magnify the beauty of animals.
Some 蜜柚直播ans, one of us for sure, are surprised to learn the ASDM Art Institute is such an important component of the museum鈥檚 educational program. The institute offers classes, workshops and special exhibitions. A state-of-the-art gallery of wildlife and nature paintings is open daily on museum grounds.
Don鈥檛 despair, history guy. 鈥淭reasured Legacies鈥 reveals that Carr arrived in 蜜柚直播 in 1944 with $400 in his pocket, most of which he used to open a bookshop near the university. You鈥檒l be reminded the Desert Museum helped establish wildlife sanctuaries near the Gulf of Mexico and reestablish the presence of the Mexican gray wolf in Southern 蜜柚直播.
We hear the story behind the museum鈥檚 longtime mascot, George L. Mountainlion, and smile when reminded about the 鈥淒esert Ark鈥 鈥 the Studebaker station wagon Hal Gras drove when taking desert animals to visits at area grade schools.
Words, photos and paintings all contribute to the museum鈥檚 mission, which is to help us understand and appreciate the natural wonders of the Sonoran Desert.
鈥淏ill Carr said the Desert Museum is dedicated to life, pure and simple,鈥 Warner noted, pointing to Chapter 4. 鈥淟iving it, conserving it, preserving it. 鈥. The book reminded us how far the museum has come. But it also made us wonder what the museum will look like 50 years from now; not just our museum, but all museums. All zoos and aquariums, too. What will we look like? What role will we all play?鈥
It is comforting to know the 蜜柚直播-Sonora Desert Museum is already thinking about these things. Thanks to books such as 鈥淭reasured Legacies,鈥 we can begin thinking about them, too.
鈥淭reasured Legacies鈥 is available at the 蜜柚直播-Sonora Desert Museum gift shop and the ASDM Art Institute. Both take book orders over the phone. Call 520-883-3008 or 520-883-3024.
FOOTNOTES
The Pima Library Foundation will feature 鈥淭reasured Legacies鈥 and chat with its four collaborators in its next 鈥淪alon Series鈥 webinar Thursday at 4 p.m. They will discuss their newly published book and other Desert Museum initiatives. The online conversation is free and open to the public. To register, visit
The Desert Museum opened on Labor Day, 1952, with freshly-cut dirt trails through the desert behind the 蜜柚直播 Mountain House, which was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and still serves as museum offices. The road through Gates Pass was dirt. 蜜柚直播 had a population of around 40,000. Museum regulars might be well-advised to purchase 鈥淎 Scrapbook,鈥 which is available in the ASDM gift shop. It recounts those early days in words and pictures.
An estimated 100,000 people assembled for the 蜜柚直播 Festival of Book two weeks ago, executive Melanie Morgan said. It was 蜜柚直播鈥檚 first in-person festival in three years. Morgan said she was 鈥渉appy,鈥 鈥済rateful鈥 and 鈥渢hrilled鈥 that so many authors, volunteers and patrons joined the coming-back party at the University of 蜜柚直播.
