We'd planned to spend a few hours at the Heard Museum, but ended up being there the better part of the day. Even so, I still don't think we covered everything. The exhibits are beautifully done. We took one of the free tours, and the person who lead our group was terrific, informatic and fun. Now, the Heard misses the five star mark only because of the gift shop. I normally love a good gift shop. Don't get me wrong--this one is really beautiful and everything there is authentic and displayed in the best possible way. Our tour guide said that it had recently been redone and it shows. However, this gift shop is so highly "curated" that there are no moderately priced items at all. I believe that artists deserve a fair price for their work, but I also believe that a gift shop should offer items in a range of prices to accommodate all visitors. I can picture the museum decision makers mulling over the very exquisite things they wanted to stock (and how they wanted to avoid dreck, shudder!)--and not even thinking about price. No one wants dreck! But let's also respect that not all visitors are wealthy.

The Heard is a wonderful museum that is both historic and modern, most of which appears to be intended to uplift the history and culture of native peoples. Many of the exhibits, particularly the boarding school exhibit, were sobering and thought-provoking. If I could recommend one thing, it would be to take advantage of the free docent-led tours held throughout the day. Our docent was able to add some color and context to the exhibits, providing a greater level of personal enrichment than we would have received had we decided to go it alone. We gave ourselves 2.5 hours and we still ran out of time! We didn't even have the chance to browse the gift shop and bookstore. The Heard is a local gem and one worth visiting every time you're in the area.

This is *the* museum to visit for Native American culture and art. We went on a guided 60-minute tour, which provided an excellent overview of all of the wonderful exhibits the Heard museum has to offer (thank you, Carol!!). Excellently curated. Serene, informative, More modern than ancient works, all very impressive. My favorite is the display along the wall next to the "Art and Sole" gallery, a line of interesting clay and glass art in the form of an ocotillo fence. Substance of the Stars was interesting, and Away From Home was well-done and a very sad testament to the horrors visited upon Native American children in boarding schools. Definitely make a reservation at the Courtyard Cafe. The prickly pear lemonade was as pretty as it is tasty. The Garden Grilled Cheese was the messiest and most delicious sandwich I've had in decades, more veg than cheese. Turkey and Brie was also delicious. Adequate and free parking. Make this a stop when you visit Phoenix.

What on honor to experience the ambiance the museum provides including the lovely cafe. I found the travel to the museum very easy both buses and the light rail stop here with the entrance on the side easy to find. Once inside the gate you walk around to the archway and pass a store and I stopped in the restaurant that was very inviting before I toured the museum. The choices offered made my decision very difficult but I decided on the turkey green apple Brie sandwich and a side salad and prickly pear lemonade. The sandwich was a delicious blend with a dressing that had a hint of a bite. The salad was fresh and the dressing also a perfect pairing with this sandwich and the lemonade I could not get enough of it was very refreshing. Topping this meal off I had fry bread dessert and it was a perfect end to a perfect day. Highly recommend you stop and enjoy a meal here.

What a wonderful place! Each exhibition was very well curated. The Basha basket collection and the Maria Martinez exhibitions are top-notch and informative. But our big surprise was the docent for a quick 45 minute overview of the collection: simply excellent, had challenging questions for us to consider, welcoming, culturally relevant, and very informed. Bravo!

The greatly curated collection of Native American artwork is breathtaking. Not only is it an art museum, but it is also a history museum and there is so much to take in and learn. The boarding school exhibit was tough to digest. The museum is serene yet very large so plan about 2 hours. I can go on and on but I do want to give away too much. I loved the museum and will return.

Museum focusing on Native American exhibits. My visit was very unique, as I had never before been to or even heard of a full museum which specializes in this area. The exhibit on boarding schools was moving and effective. The buildings themselves are also gorgeous.

They did an amazing job with the displays, very enjoyable. the clothing exhibit was very well done. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the miniature rooms. They were awesome, transported me in time. Many of the exhibits were just not a style that interested me. I'm not into angst. There was a lot of empty space, requiring a lot of walking through, empty space. I understand the need for that, but I felt that for the price, I really didn't see many paintings that interested me, except for a couple of Fr. Imp. paintings. I mean, who doesn't appreciate a Monet?! Loved the Vuillard.

This is a beautiful museum full of Indian artifacts and artwork. The museum is laid out very nicely and is so colorful. My only complaint was that it had more contemporary items (i.e. less than 50-60 years old) than ancient artifacts. I enjoyed the textiles and art that was included, but I expected more historical items. We also had lunch at the cafe, and although the service was very slow, the food was good. As an aside, if you are interested in Native American artifacts, I think the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, OK has a better collection.

Really interesting museum of Native American art, mostly contemporary. Great exhibits too on special historical boarding schools for Native Americans and some other stuff. Very enjoyable few hours on a very hot day. The cafe is a real gem. I ordered cold Three Sisters Soup and it was one of the most delicious soups I've ever had in my life.