One of Arizona’s largest hands-on outdoor expos is 3 weeks away.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department Outdoor Expo presented by Shikar Safari Club International will be held on Saturday, March 25, and Sunday, March 26, at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix. The free event offers loads of activities, presentations and exhibits for everyone from novice to seasoned outdoor recreationists.

The Expo has come a long way since its inception, growing from 1,000 attendees in 2004 to a record of 41,100 people last year. 

Some of the things attendees can do include:

• View live wildlife exhibits (hawks, reptiles, small mammals, more
• Give kayaking a try at the “Lake Paddlemore” kayaking pond.
• Hike a field course and learn cool camping tips.
• Take the kids to two huge catch-and-release fishing tanks.
• Learn target archery. 
• Try out different firearms in a safe, controlled environment on the shooting range, or learn specialty shooting disciplines such as clay target, cowboy action, practical pistol, black powder, air gun, and more. New this year is an expanded line of firearm manufacturers.
• Learn from informative talks on topics such as wilderness survival, raptors, reptiles, how to improve dove hunting and the life of a rainbow trout.
• Attend exciting cowboy mounted shooting competition at the Royce W. Anderson Family Arena. 
• View off-highway vehicle exhibits and rock crawler demonstrations. 
• View boating exhibits and learn about watercraft safety. 
• Visit with more than 150 exhibitors, including outdoor organizations, government agencies, and commercial vendors of outdoor products and services.

Admission and parking are free, but people might want to bring a little cash for the variety of food and beverage concessionaires and other vendors. ATMs will be on-site.

For more information, visit www.azgfd.gov/expo.