The UA Visitor Center began its fall Campus Walking Tours this month. The tours, which are typically conducted by UA Visitor Center volunteers and UA alumni, occur every Wednesday at 10 a.m.
This year the Visitor Center is offering four types of walking tours around campus including “Things to Do at the U,” the public art tour and the history tour. The newest addition to the list is the Sustainability/Sustainable Landscapes Tour, which focuses on various locations around campus that have turned into sustainable environments by using water harvesting or solar resources.
“We’re working really close with the campus arboretum to provide information about sustainability throughout the walk,” said Wendi Rountree, program coordinator at the UA Visitor Center.
The tours are free to the public and visitors are provided with a water bottle and carrying case before they take a 90-minute trek around the UA campus. While on the history tour, participants will be educated on historic campus landmarks including the Arizona State Museum, Old Main and Centennial Hall.
James Bly, a UA alumni and volunteer for the Visitor Center, has been leading the history tour for the last four years. He says he is still finding new things about the campus.
“It’s amazing how much public art items there are on campus because they don’t initially jump right out at you, so you never realize it,” Bly said. “At least, I didn’t.”
Aside from walking tours every Wednesday, the center also hosts special tours during events on campus like Family Weekend or Homecoming. On the first Saturday of the month, the center also gives shuttle tours of the campus to people who have mobility issues.
“It’s basically like the historic tour but you are on a bus route,” Rountree said.
The tours start at the Visitor Center, located on the corner of University Boulevard and Euclid Avenue. The Visitor Center advises tour attendees to wear comfortable clothing and shoes.