Museum of Northern Arizona update for April 19 — Upcoming events at MNA

Earth Day is an annual reminder of our impacts and responsibility to the planet. MNA has a new exhibition and several events exploring how humans interact with our environment, including an artist collaborative using native plants to restore a tract of desert land and a documentary and public forum about the Colorado River and Grand Canyon. There’s so much for everyone to learn and love at the museum. As a private non-profit we depend completely on support from people like you. Please show your continued support through our Spring Fundraising Appeal. Thank you.

An Unnatural Wonder film and panel

April 28, 2-4 pm

Free

This new documentary reveals how people have turned the Colorado River into a human-managed “unnatural wonder” with dams and other techniques, altering the ecosystem for centuries to come. The 30-minute screening will be followed by a discussion and Q&A featuring key figures from the film. Tickets are free and available online.

Grand Canyon Science: The NEXT 100 Years

A Future of the Colorado Plateau Forum

May 1, 6-8 pm

Free, but seating is limited

Climate change, drought, and new ways of doing science will make the next century of research at Grand Canyon National Park very different from the last. Scientists describe what that might look like, and public participants offer their ideas and recommendations. Reserve a seat.

Horticulture Tour: Early Bloomers and grasses

May 4

10-11 am

Learn about early blooming plants and cool season grasses on this guided tour with MNA Horticulturist Jan Busco. Be ready to walk and spend time outside in the MNA research campus open space and around Coyote Springs. A seedling and plant sale follows. Feel free to bring a picnic lunch. Tickets required.

Seedling Swap and Sale

Colton Community Garden

May 4, 10 am – 1 pm

Get a head start on the growing season. Load up on hardy starts grown by Flagstaff farmers or bring your extra plant starts to swap. Learn to build a self-wicking garden bed at a FREE workshop offered during the sale.

Spring Cleaning Sale

MNA parking lot and Research Campus

May 4, 10 am -1pm

MNA staff have been organizing the storage areas and unearthing old frames, office furnishings, knick-knacks and doodads. Come find the perfect frame or paperweight for your home. Bring cash and buy “treasures”.

Writing and Publishing on the Plateau

May 4, 2-4 pm

Learn from local authors and publishers how they went from draft to published product. Make connections and have a chance to ask questions during a session moderated by Flagstaff author Margaret Erhart. This event is co-sponsored by Flagstaff Writers Connection

Behind-the-Scenes Tour: Botany

May 17, 4-5 pm

Tour guide: Botanist Kirstin Phillips

$10 members/$25 nonmembers

The MNA herbarium contains more than 40,000 specimens, some collected in the early 1900s. The plants, and the people who collected them tell a story of a changing world and the impacts of humans on the environment. Tour size limited. Purchase tickets.

Night Stories

May 17, 7-9 pm

Suggested donation $5

There’s more to night than meets the eye. Experience the nocturnal world through fact and fable. Bundle up and listen to stories under the full moon. Takes place outdoors, near the entrance to the Colton Community Gardens. Bring a flashlight.

Summer Camp Registration

10% off for MNA Members

Camps run weekly from June 10-Aug. 2

Ages: 4-14

This summer, kids can come to MNA to play with clay, camp out in National Parks, learn to cook Hopi foods, perform Shakespeare and much, much more. Select from 40 art and science (STEAM) camps, all led by professional educators. Extended care and scholarships available. Download the Discovery Camp schedule and start planning a summer of fun, learning and exploration. Sign up now

STEAM Second Saturday: Reptiles Rock!

May 11 at 2:00 pm

Free for members and kids age 9 and under

Do you love everything scaly and slithery? Join MNA Reptile educator, Mason Kuluris for a close-up look at live snakes, lizards, a turtle and more. Learn all about these fascinating creatures and what it takes to take care of them. See the schedule of upcoming STEAM Second Saturdays.

Navajo Weaving Workshop

May 25-27, 9 am -4 pm

$325 members/$375 nonmembers

Join renowned Navajo weaver Marilou Schultz for a three day weaving workshop at the Museum of Northern Arizona. Learn the basic techniques of weaving to create your own piece and gain insight into this beautiful and traditional art form. Loom and most supplies included. Perfect for all levels including beginners.Sign up for the workshop by calling 928-774-5211 ext. 222 or register Online

SP Crater Day Hike

May 18, 2019, 8:30 am-4 pm

Explore two textbook small volcanoes in one day with geologist Kent Colbath. The short but rigorous hikes lead to glimpses into SP Crater and Doney Crater, as well as spectacular views of the San Francisco Peaks volcanic field. Sign up by calling 928-774-5211 ext. 222 or Online

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip

May 1-8, 2020 Almost full!

Experience the canyon in ways you will never forget. Enjoy a seven-day, six-night, fully outfitted motorized rafting trip on the Colorado River with Grand Canyon geologist and expert Wayne Ranney. These trips fill up early. Sign up by calling 928-774-5211 ext. 222 or Online

San Juan River Music Excursion

May 20-23, 2020

Join MNA songwriting residency musicians, Chris Brashear and Peter McLaughlin for a musical river adventure. During the day float through the magnificent Goosenecks and hike side canyons. Spend the evenings enjoying music by two premiere western songwriters beneath the stars. These trips fill up early. Sign up by calling 928-774-5211 ext. 222 or Online

DesertArtLAB: Ecologies of Resistance

Opening April 27

Members preview April 26,  6-8 pm

The DesertArtLAB interdisciplinary art collaborative transformed a tract of blighted land into a thriving dryland ecosystem with native plants and Native voices. This exhibition illustrates the process through the use of artifacts, archival materials, botanical samples, and a cell-phone audio component. Bring your own headphones for the best experience.

90 Years of Ideas

Now open

The Museum of Northern Arizona was founded 90 years ago with some big ideas – that a museum can be core to the culture of a community; that science, art and culture belong together in one museum; that a museum can and should advocate and educate. Come see a graphic presentation of MNA history highlighting some of the ideas and research.

The Ant Empire: Strength in Community

Now open

A living exhibition of honeypot ants! These fascinating insects store sweet liquids in their swollen abdomens. Myrmecocystus are native to Arizona, where they live in nests underground. The living display at MNA gives visitors a peek into their complex community. This exhibition is generously supported by Isaac’s Ant Foundation and dedicated to the memory of Isaac Calley

Spring Appeal

Thank you to those who have been contributing to our spring fundraiser. The financial support is essential, but so are the kind notes. One donor wrote- “I just had to respond to this request when reading how the Museum gave gift memberships to 7th and 8th graders in Flagstaff! The next Bill Breed or Lex Lindsay or Steve Carothers may be in this lucky group of students. Thank you MNA!”

And thank you, for supporting the museum!

New items in the shop

In time for Mother’s Day and graduation, the Museum Shop has put out a fresh selection of jewelry, art and other items, including handcrafted stone earrings and pendants by Vernon and Clarissa Hale and business card holders by Beverly Blacksheep.

Great gift for graduates

A commemorative Pendleton blanket from MNA is the ideal gift for a graduate, something lovely and meaningful that they can use for decades to come. This wool blanket features the Sunset Crater Kachina, known for showing the Hopi how to turn the devastation left by the volcanic eruption into a boon for their crops. Buy your limited edition blanket online or stop by the MNA shop.