At the Desert Caballeros Western Museum, guests who check out the Caballeros Explorer Pack will find color paddles to view their surroundings in new ways and learn about color mixing.

The ringtail is the Arizona State Mammal. They are bashful and usually come out of hiding at night. They were once called “miner’s cats” but are not related to cats at all. Ringtails are actually members of the raccoon family.

The Bola Tie patent was awarded to Wickenburg’s own Vic Cedarstaff in 1959. It was originally called a “piggin’ necktie” because it resembled the pigging string used by cowboys to hog-tie calves.

The cactus wren is the state bird of Arizona and eats primarily insects. It is a desert bird because it obtains almost all of the water it needs from its food. A cactus wren will rarely drink water even when it is plentiful.

Every summer the Desert Caballeros Western Museum hosts one or more classes at Camp Imagination in partnership with the Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts.

The ridge-nosed rattlesnake forages in the fallen leaves for its favorite foods, including lizards, mice, and centipedes. This relatively small rattlesnake has a raised ridge that borders the snout.

Throughout the year the Desert Cabaleros Western Museum hosts several family events. We wanted to share with you one of our favorite projects from the spring of 2019, rock cactus.

One of only two native trout species in the state, Apache trout is the Arizona state fish. Identified by the olive-green and yellowish body, this fish inhabits the clear, cold waters in Arizona Fun Fact Apache trout was one of the first fish species protected Arizona’s White Mountains.

The Desert Caballeros Western Museum hosts various family events throughout the year. One of our favorite projects to kick off the start of 2020 was a collaborative painting of a giant boot!

Students will find quantities by counting items depicted in Western art and discuss their purpose as it relates to their jobs.

Learn to identify common plants found in the desert southwest.

Students will write a response after listening to America the Beautiful based on an iconic American landscape, Pike’s Peak.

Students will analyze cloud formations depicted in Western art.

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of landforms through the artistic process.

Analyze the concept of shape and form to create two works of art based on one image.

Students will write a poem inspired by Western themes.

This small, green (sometimes bronze-colored) frog lives in the marshes and pine forests above 5,000 feet. The school children of Arizona voted the tree frog as the state amphibian in 1986.

One of our “smashing” family events at DCWM has been flower pounding. Here is how you can reproduce the same art at home with helpful tips from our very own Wickenburg resident Hartley Bennett.

In 2001, this yellow and black beauty was designated as the Arizona state butterfly. Swallowtail butterflies are the largest species of butterfly found in the United States.

Bend, shape and create with this tactile lesson teaching the Elements of Art using craft stems.

From family days to camps, DCWM has hosted a variety of mixed media art projects. Here is how you can make your own mixed media relief on a board.

Studying photographs is a great way to involve everyone in the family. Try out this game using historical photographs from the Desert Caballeros Western Museum collection.

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is two days of celebration, November 1st and 2nd, to commemorate the lives of the departed and welcome the return of their spirits. The history of Day of the Dead is embedded with indigenous and Spanish customs and has become increasingly popular in Latin America and the United States.

Design a sugar skull.