Drop-In Discovery Saturdays at PGM

Enjoy free, fun, educational programs on the back patio at Pueblo Grande Museum from local artists, and organizations specializing in prehistoric cultural practices, desert plants and animal conservation, and environmental education. These Drop-In Discovery programs are available on the third Saturday of the month, November through April from 10 a.m. to noon, and included with Museum admission. Each program is presented as an informal opportunity for guests to watch demonstrations or learn more information about specific topics from experts in these fields. Stop by PGM for one or all of the upcoming six Drop-In Discoveries! These programs were made possible by Arizona Humanities.

Join the skills group Study of Ancient Lifeways and Technologies (S.A.L.T.) on the back patio at PGM for an informal educational presentation on prehistoric technologies.  S.A.L.T. will be demonstrating the making of stone axe heads, stone and shell jewelry and fiber processing. Included with paid Museum admission.

Join the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation, part of the South Mountain Environmental Education Center, on the back patio at PGM for an informal educational presentation on the plants, animals, history and conservation needs specific to the Sonoran Desert we call home. The City of Phoenix strongly supports environmental education and, together with ACNC, makes efforts toward instilling within visitors a sense of stewardship over the mountains and desert preserves.

Join Ron Carlos, Maricopa Potter and Jacob Butler, Onk Akimel O’Odham Artist, on the back patio for a drop-in informational program and demonstration about the process of making pottery. Discover the many steps involved from clay sourcing, processing raw clay, forming, painting, and finally the firing process. Guest will also enjoy a demonstration of the paddle and anvil technique, which is a style of pottery making indicative of many of the southern Arizona tribes. This informal program is included with paid museum admission.

Join August Wood on the back patio for a drop-in informational program and demonstration about the process of making Pima baskets.

Explore samples of plants found on the museum grounds with the perspective of how they fit into the medicine chest, sewing box, and kitchen pantry of those who lived here before the Europeans arrived. Still common in the landscape or scattered in the surrounding desert, plants that function aesthetically now were hugely important to those early settlers of the valley. Long before the Europeans brought new plants to the culture, people living in the low desert made do with what they had and found it useful!  As visitors go on the trails they can recognize important plants as well as the dwellings and other remains.

  

Learn about some of the native Arizona wildlife in this hands on demonstration. The PHS will also discuss some non-native reptiles who have made their way here over the past few decades. Finally, they'll explore methods of staying safe and co-existing within our Sonoran Desert environment.