The next step in the construction of a brand-new building for the Arizona Museum of Natural History in Mesa has been taken, with plans for actual work on the project to begin two or three years from now.
Located at 53 N. MacDonald street in a structure that was built in 1937, the museum is the only natural history museum of its kind in the southwest and regularly attracts upwards of 175,000 visitors a year.
But officials have long suggested that the museum could expand its holdings and attract even more visitors if housed in a larger structure.
To that end, plans have been aired for the construction of a four-story, 288,000-square-foot building to replace the current 66,000-square-foot facility. The new building will also include both a rooftop restaurant and observatory.
Members of the Mesa City Council have agreed to approve upwards of $6 million to fund the conceptual planning part of the process, with speculation aired that ultimately the project could cost as much as $300 million to complete.
In comments delivered before the council, museum director Simon Tipene Adlam predicted that the new museum will “drive visitation, private investment, and – importantly for future generations – job creation and work pathways.”
The museum currently houses more than 60,000 anthropology, history, art, and natural history objects. The N. MacDonald facility, which was built with Works Progress Administration funds, underwent two expansions in the 1980s with an entirely new wing built in 2000.
Museum officials have said that they think a new, larger building could easily attract anywhere from 515,000 to 630,000 visitors a year.
June 5, 2026
By Garry Boulard
