Arizona Natural Resources Museum (ANRM)

Project Overview

Museum Planning LLC was hired by the University of Arizona to create a comprehensive museum plan to guide the renovation and construction of the Arizona Natural Resources Museum. Work included building design, audience research, schematic exhibition design, and stakeholder feedback. The museum is planned to open in Fall 2025.

The Concept: "Not a Box of Rocks"

The natural world is real-life magic. Transformations are happening all around us: river to cloud, element to mineral, bone to fossil. The new Arizona Nature and Tech Museum reveals the spells behind the enchantments — allowing visitors to experience hands-on the processes that create the world around them, and to recognize their own role in shaping those processes.

This is an anti-museum: visitor-centric, with shared authority and co-creation of content. The new mixed-reality experience moves beyond the physical location — available on smartphones, at home, and as an in-classroom resource for students, teachers, and parents.

Museum Program

The Arizona Natural Resources Museum includes highly interactive exhibits with digital components, an outdoor science playground, a maker space, virtual exhibits, a materials lab, a library, an online museum, a children's area, and a demonstration stage.

Deliverables

The project produced a visitor experience schematic design including 4–6 renderings of the interior and exterior, a digital model of the interior and exterior with interactivity, and a comprehensive business and strategic plan for the museum.