The ancient Hohokam culture of Arizona constructed at least 200 ball courts more than 800 years ago. These oval depressions were likely used to play a ball game that originated in southern Mexico, where the game was played with a rubber ball and had a very important role in reenacting the creation of humans in […]

Arizona played a key role in preparing to send humans to the moon in the late 1960s/early 1970s. The Apollo astronauts themselves traveled to the Grand Canyon and volcanic fields around the state to learn geology and practice their lunar excursions. Meanwhile, U.S. Geological Survey engineers worked with NASA staff members to develop and test […]

Harvey Harlow Nininger was an American meteoriticist and educator who revived interest in the scientific study of meteorites in the 1930s and assembled one of the world’s largest personal collections. He is considered the Father of American Meteoritics and was the founder of the American Meteorite Museum near Meteor Crater which subsequently moved to Sedona. […]

Dressed in a Mexican huipil with her face painted in a traditional calavera (skull), Elena Díaz Bjorkquist answers the questions of what Día de los Muertos is, where it came from, its roots, and how it’s celebrated. Día los Muertos is a significant and highly celebrated holiday in Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Many […]

During WWII a select group of young Navajo men enlisted in the Marines with a unique weapon. Using the Navajo language, they devised a secret code that the enemy never deciphered.  For over 40 years a cloak of secrecy hung over the Code Talker’s service until the code was declassified and they were finally honored […]

Like all great men and women, he was a mixture of talents and motivations. Yet, the one quality of Lincoln, above all else, that allowed him to achieve stratospheric heights, was his humble ability to tell stories. The goal of this presentation is to equip audiences with the very methods that Abraham Lincoln used to […]

In 1880, Alan Day’s grandfather homesteaded the Lazy B ranch.  This dusty dry tract of land produced a Supreme Court Justice, a lauded Arizona state senator, and a career rancher, cowboy, and land conservationist. Alan explores the ranching and cowboying life from the chuck wagon years of his childhood, through his adult years of increasing […]

Millions of travelers visit the Grand Canyon each year, but just 150 years ago, this was still considered the “last blank spot on the map.” One man, a one-armed civil war veteran, was determined to navigate and document the Colorado River as it winds through the canyon. Therefore, on May 24, 1869, John Wesley Powell […]

From bustling Hong Kong, to the opulent Grand Palace of Bangkok, to the world’s tallest building in Dubai, to the slums of Mumbai, this highly visual presentation will explore the culture, cuisine, and customs of this fascinating and rapidly changing region.  Dan Fellner, an experienced travel writer and Fulbright Fellow in Asia, will share his […]

The promise of unimagined riches is what brought many of the earliest colonizers to the Arizona Territory. Following the trail to the discovery of the mother lode, they built, then dismantled and finally abandoned communities when mines played out – leaving behind tantalizing clues of difficult hardships. Some towns survived like Bisbee, Jerome, Tombstone and […]

Royce Manuel (Akimel O’odham) best describes his work through the “Tools of Yesterday” using plant fiber, primitive bows & arrows, knapping stone, and making agave plant cordage. As a tribal and cultural educator and member of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Royce and Debbie specializes in the revival and teaching of artistic traditions while […]