S’edav Va’aki Museum in Phoenix closing for 4 months for renovations

PHOENIX — The S’edav Va’aki Museum in Phoenix closed Tuesday for extensive renovations and is expected to reopen in four months.

This is the first time in 20 years that leaders will be implementing a new storytelling technique with the exhibits at the museum, which is located at 4619 E. Washington St.

The museum, which is owned and operated by the city of Phoenix, was formerly known as the Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park.

“We hate to be closed, but summer is the slowest time,” Museum Director Nicole Armstrong-Best told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

What changes are coming to S’edav Va’aki Museum in Phoenix?

The museum will be removing two exhibits. “What’s in Our Name?” addressed the name change and was meant to be temporary from the beginning, according to Museum Director Nicole Armstrong-Best.

The other exhibit being deinstalled is “Following Their Roots,” which will be replaced by “Parched: The Art of Water in the Southwest.”

The Coconino Center of the Arts created this exhibit by taking artists and scientists on a weeklong exploration of the watershed in Arizona. The center then commissioned those artists to create pieces based on their journey.

“We’re hoping that, when we reopen in September, everyone will be really thrilled with Parched,” Armstrong-Best said.

Two exhibits are leaving S’edav Va’aki Museum

S’edav Va’aki’s main gallery, “The Land and the People,” will also be uninstalled.

“The change is really based on the fact that the information presented in the main gallery 20 years ago really came from an archaeological, western perspective,” Armstrong-Best said. “We have now been speaking more closely with the descending communities of the people who built this village.”

Museum officials want to upgrade the main gallery so it combines scientific information with those communities’ oral history and stories.

“So taking that main exhibit out, it’s going to take us several years to put in the new interpretive exhibit that we are working on right now,” Armstrong-Best said. “We will open with part of it in September, but we still need to build out several other pieces of it.”

Other changes at S’edav Va’aki will include a new exhibition layout, modernized displays, updated artifact information labels and an upgraded HVAC system.

What other ways can I see S’edav Va’aki Museum while it’s closed?

There are different resources for visitors who still want to learn about the museum while it is undergoing these renovations.

The museum’s website has a virtual programming page that provides free educational content, worksheets and online exhibits to scroll through. It also has a YouTube channel with a variety of videos to watch.

Those looking for something a little more interactive can do a virtual tour of the Interpretive Mound Trail through Google Maps.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Serena O’Sullivan contributed to this report.

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