Visiting another Phoenix Indian museum is boring—let’s make it fun! Jefferson (13), Jameson (11), and I (42) just visited the Heard Indian Museum in downtown Phoenix. Here’s how to make the most of the Heard Museum with kids! (And how to get in FREE!)
My kids aren’t super interested in museums in general (neither am I, to be perfectly honest), but since I’m trying to raise cultured people here, we visit all the museums and cultural sights we can. Especially when they’re cheap or free.
My kids think that a day in a boring museum is still better than a day at home learning about stuff in boring museums. (And I always pack some junk food for our day trips, so that’s something to look forward to.)
Stealth Schooling for the Win!
The funniest thing happens: we all learn the most when we’re not doing school! Any field trip is well worth the time spent out of the school books—what better lessons than life skills and travel and exposure to culture?
Museums are boring.”
So they say.
Yet, on each and every field trip, my kids have a blast—despite their dire predictions for a day of ultimate boredom.
Phoenix Homeschool Field Trip Ideas: Heard Museum with Kids
Scroll down through the photos and captions to find out how to make the most of a field trip to the Heard Museum with teens and tweens (without them being bored out of their minds)! Pin the long photo below to see all the photo ops at once:
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Most impressive: hand beaded Converse Chucks!
You know you’re a Phoenix homeschool mom when your kids see the Art Glass Fence and ask, “Is that Chihuly?” [No, but good guess!]
Jameson takes the photo op: The kids’ room at the Heard has a backdrop so your kids can pose as the Man in a Wicker Chair by T.C. Cannon. A full wing of the Heard is devoted to Cannon.
There are a few simple crafts and coloring pages in the kids’ room.
This is the thing my kids liked most at the Heard, probably because it was something they hadn’t learned about before: stereo photographs interactive display. The side by side photos look like 3D photos through a trick of the eye when viewed through the device.
Playing Cowboys and Indians in the log cabin. This is one of the most kid friendly exhibits in the museum—nothing to break here!
Naked statues are always amusing to kids.
I wonder what all these people would do if we jumped in? Reflecting on juvenile delinquency outside the museum restaurant.
Free at last! Take time to run the spiral path on the Heard Museum lawn!
Heard Indian Museum in Downtown Phoenix Discounts
The Heard Museum is surprisingly expensive: $18 for adults and $7.50 for kids ages 6–17.
- Good news: Kids 5 and under get in free.
- Bad news: You might not want to take little kids to this museum filled with precious artifacts—or the ginormous museum gift shop, where we noticed beaded headbands casually displayed in a basket for $40 each! (I can’t imagine what the basket itself costs.) Smashable pottery galore here: if you have more little kids than you have hands, maybe skip the Heard.
If you’re looking for free things to do with kids in Phoenix, here are 2 ways to get free admission to the Heard Museum:
- Free admission First Fridays 6 p.m. to 10 p.m
- Get 2 free admissions any day with a Culture Pass! We paid just $7.50 for the 3 of us to get in thanks to the Culture Pass program!
Related: All Culture Pass attractions on 1 map! Free Things to do in Phoenix with Kids—Culture Pass Tips
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