Tempe History Museum

Small and interesting place. A lot of very interesting video material let us know more stories. Funny.

People don’t know what they are missing if they haven’t visited this museum. Not only does it have a good selection of exhibits with interactive elements but it also has a ton of events for adults on evenings, weekends and summer programs for kids/​families. All free!

So a friend dragged me here to see the Tempe Sound exhibit that shows guitars that various hometown heroes and favorite sons in the Tempe local music scene played. Featured are artists like Hans Olson, Walt Richardson, Gin Blossoms, The Refreshments, etc. There’s even a life size evil-​looking mannequin of a St. Madness member that I saw a number of rugrats run up to and then run screaming away from. LOL. There was also a synthetic drum set up so you can put on headphones and pound away to your heart’s content — which was probably the most popular part of the exhibit with the kids. Afterwards I took a quick look at the regular exhibits. There are a few interactive things you can do on a computer like take a photo of yourself and turn it into a mosaic made from photos of all the folks that did the same thing before you. There’s also a virtual «Greetings From Tempe» postcard you can make with your photo and send it to yourself by email. Also going on at the same time was a lego exhibition by Cactus Brick featuring a giant train set, giant castle, and pretty much every space vehicle in the Star Wars series. Right at the entrance there’s all sorts of stuff for sale mostly related to either Tempe or the museum exhibits. That day we went there was also a concert event called LOUD IV — featuring the Salt River Brass Quartet, The Stu Siefer Combo, and Bad Cactus Brass Band. There were also a few food trucks: Bang Bang Dumplings, Sweet Magnolias Smokehouse BBQ and Paletas Betty. Didn’t try the other trucks but I just HAD to have a Strawberry Cream paleta. Salt River Brass Quartet played first and played a wide range of material — jazz, classical and even pop pieces like their rendition of Pharrell Williams’ «Happy» as well as Muse’s «Supermassive Black Hole.» Stu Siefer’s Combo played more straight ahead traditional jazz standards. We didn’t stay past that but a good time was had by all. I’ll definitely come back for another event like this. Plenty of parking and it’s free. Even though it usually closes at 5pm the museum building stayed open longer for the event.

This museum is really interesting for adults and super fun for kids. We spent two and a half hours here, which is a long time to hold the attention of my three kids, especially with how small it is! It was very interactive and they had a very large play area for kids with lots of cool things to do, including a farm truck with crates, play food, and a place to «plant» and «harvest» the food, some dress up clothes, and a small stage with curtains and theatre seating so the kids could put on a show. A highlight is the music area that showcases the history of local musicians, it is also very interactive. And to top it all off, it’s completely free! We all had a blast.

Saw the Dry River Yacht Club band there… didnt even know there was an ampitheater next door, great stage room and i belive it was a free concert… I couldnt find the bar and a glass of wine would have made it perfect.

Located in the old Tempe public library, this museum is essentially a single room that can be toured in about 15 minutes. I took my grandchildren here twice over the summer to get out of the heat. There are a couple of areas that are child centric – such as the «dress up» area with kids uniforms for them to try on and a truck with farm stuff for them to climb on. It does a fair job of relating the story of the history of Tempe.
The gift shop is not as nice as when they were in the prior location. I had purchased some nice throw blankets featuring Tempe landmarks for my daughters when they were in their old location, but I noted that they no longer carry them in the new gift shop.

I didn’t think the Tempe Historical Museum would be that interesting. After all, let’s face it, Tempe isn’t that interesting. Yet, through dioramas, photographs, and filmed recreations, the museum does an excellent job of relating the story of Tempe and the various battles over land, water, and development the city has faced. OK, the movies are a little forced. You know the kind of films where people talk about current events as if they were talking to complete imbeciles. It would be like if today I said, «Hey Joe, you hear about the war in Iraq?»
But maybe I’m the only one that kind of stuff really bothers. And aside from those moments, I was really interested in the exhibits here. It really does a good job at explaining how Tempe changed and became what it is today. Most local museums I find trying, but this one put forth a really good effort. For the free admission, it can’t hurt to spend half-​an-​hour to learn a little about the local history.