Mesa Celebrates Old & New
The Mesa Southwest Museum is changing its name to the Arizona Museum of Natural History to better reflect the facility's unique place in the landscape of the Valley's museums. The new name will be officially unveiled at a noon ceremony on Saturday, October 6, 2007.
"The name Arizona Museum of Natural History makes clear to potential visitors throughout the state what they will experience when they come to the museum," explains Director Tom Wilson. "The new name more accurately reflects the mission of the institution as a natural history museum and emphasize its statewide scope."
The celebration will also mark the opening of the Museum's newest exhibition "Hohokam! Ancient Monuments of the Salt River Valley," which tells the story of the first people calling the Valley home. If this sounds similar to the permanent exhibits on display at Phoenix's Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park, it should. Both look at the history and culture of the Hohokam people as revealed by excavations carried out by archaeologists at several sites. The are not, however, duplicate efforts.
"The exhibition examines the Hohokam people in new and comprehensive ways," Arizona Museum of NAtural History Curator of Anthropology Dr. Jerry Howard said. "It is an amazing look at how these remarkable agriculturists constructed the largest irrigation systems in the prehistoric new world, transforming the Salt River Valley from a desert into an agricultural paradise."
The Arizona Museum of Natural History's new exhibit will include reproductions of ancient houses, large earth ovens and prehistoric irrigation canals as the actually appear in local archaeological sites. From excavations in these sites, the exhibition will also include authentic artifacts, such as coper bells, shell jewelry, figurines, ceramics and many other items.
The Hohokam exhibit joins one of the Southwest's largest "dinosaur" museums and collections of representing southwestern natural and cultural history. Visitors to the 80,000-square-foot facility will journey through Prehistoric Arizona via Dinosaur Mountain and Dinosaur Hall then follow history through the Native Peoples gallery, Art of the Ancient Americas, a Spanish mission replica, Territorial Jail Cells, and Arizona and the Movies, among others.
The Museum also operates other facilities including the Sirrine House Museum and the Mesa Grande ruins. It is anticipated that the new name will lead to increased visitation, revenues and statewide public support for the museum and its facilities. The Museum staff estimates that up to 25,000 more visitors per year may be expected to visit the Museum under the new name.
