Transcript of Photo Slideshow
for ASM's 120th Anniversary

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Arizona State Museum is celebrating its 120th anniversary. Here we look at some of the museum's contributions—past and present.

The museum was established as the Arizona Territorial Museum in 1893 located in Old Main. It became the Arizona State Museum in 1912 when Arizona achieved statehood. It attracted top archaeologists like Byron Cummings, director from 1915–38 and Emil W. Haury, director from 1938–64.The museum moved from Old Main to Arizona Stadium in 1929 and from the stadium to ASM South in 1936 before settling into its current space in 1977.

It's the region's largest, longest-running anthropology museum, home to the world's largest collection Southwest Indian pottery with more than 20,000 pots dating back 2,000 years. The museum houses more than 25,000 baskets and fiber objects that date back 6,000 years. Visitors enjoy a variety of museum events and programs like the Southwest Indian Art Fair, summer archaeology camps, interactive family programs, and celebrations of Southwest history and culture.

The museum is the official permit agency for archaeological work on Arizona state lands and it is the official repository for artifacts discovered on those lands. It's the nations largest, busiest state-run repository accepting hundreds of thousands of artifacts. The museum works with tribal leadership to return items of cultural heritage to their nations. Museum scientists engage in research, teaching, and outreach and set worldwide standards for object preservation.

“This is where groundbreaking research is conducted, and this is where visitors have, authentic, life-enriching encounters.” —Patrick Lyons, named ASM's director in 2013.

For more information, visit the Arizona State Museum online at statemuseum.arizona.edu or call 520-621-6302.

Photography courtesy of the Arizona State Museum, Special Collections and UA RedBar. Photo slideshow by Alexis Blue and La Monica Everett-Haynes, www.uanews.org. © 2013 Arizona Board of Regents.

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