If you’ve been planning to take a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona, you might have been enticed by the many highly praised spa resorts the area has to offer or the prospect of taking in a spring training game featuring your favorite baseball team. If you’re going to be in town anyway, why not take the time to experience a bit of the local culture? One of the important influences on the area’s modern personality is the Native American arts and cultures of the past and the present, and it’s easy to appreciate them at two local museums, the famous Heard Museum and the Pueblo Grande Museum.

The Heard Museum was established in 1929 by a pioneer family that was dedicated to offering people moving west with an accurate glimpse into the lives and cultures of Native peoples. The museum’s interior contains several galleries filled with Native American fine arts, such as sculptures, prints, paintings, and photography produced over the span of the past 150 years. Although the works of art are interesting and enlightening in and of themselves, the museum goes the extra mile and utilizes its outdoor areas and performance spaces to cast more light on the Southwestern cultures it is focused on. For example, the museum hosts concerts and dance performances to make Native cultures that much more tangible for visitors. Curators also host lectures within the performance spaces of the museum to provide more information on particular pieces or styles of art. Before you leave to visit the museum, be sure to check out the museum’s website. Because the museum has two locations in different parts of Scottsdale, you’ll need to decide which one has the exhibitions you find most interesting.

Continue your exploration of the area’s Native American cultures with a visit to the Pueblo Grande Museum Archaeological Park, situated between Scottsdale and Phoenix. There, you can walk a ⅔-mile trail around a site that was once developed by the ancient Hohokam people who lived on Pueblo Grande until about 1450. The trail features the ruins of a ball court and a platform mound, in addition to many types of plants the Hohokam would have cultivated hundreds of years ago. One of the highlights of the trail is the reconstructed dwellings that you can walk in and explore. You can also look through the three galleries that detail the history of the people, the archaeological methods used to uncover the remnants of their culture, and a changing gallery with rotating presentations.

Of course, these locations are simply two places to start exploring the local history, but there are many other locations in Scottsdale and surrounding Phoenix where you can continue exploring. After all, the impact of the Native Americans of the Southwest can be seen all over, even referenced in the architecture of many buildings. If you’d like to learn more about all of the cultural and educational centers to visit in Scottsdale, or any of the other attractions the area has to offer, contact the Visitors Bureau today.

Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to travel.

Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to travel. http://www.laserspinelocations.com/scottsdale/

Author Bio: Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to travel.

Category: Travel
Keywords: Scottsdale, Scottsdale travel, Scottsdale history, Scottsdale attractions