Explorit to participate in 10th annual Museum Day

Twenty-five museums, including Explorit Science Center, will open their doors for a day of free admission Saturday during the 10th Annual Sacramento Museum Day.

Hours at all museums are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the last guests admitted at 4 p.m.

Some museums plan special programming. At Explorit’s main site at 2801 Second St., visitors can explore two floors of exhibits and then rest their feet as they do table-top problem-solving activities in the Adventure Alcove, a line of restaurant-style booths overlooking Interstate 80 and South Davis.

In addition, Explorit will open its Mace Park Branch to the public for special nature-related activities:

• “What Animal Passed This Way?” an activity in which visitors examine animal nests, footprints and other artifacts to determine what type of animal produced them.
• “Once There Was an Animal,” a similar activity except that the visitor examines actual preserved body parts – a bone, an exoskeleton, a fur pelt – to identify the animal.
• Camouflage and life-cycle activities, popular components of the center’s nature-related field trips.
• Nature walks in the adjoining Mace Park, weather permitting.

“The Sacramento region boasts dozens of museums, many of them relatively unknown to local residents,” says Kathy Fleming, chairwoman of the Sacramento Association of Museums, which organizes Museum Day. “It’s a great opportunity to sample these institutions and, in the process, to learn about our region, our state, and our world.”
Last year, more than 79,000 people enjoyed Museum Day; since the event’s inception, the number tops 500,000.

Event coordinators suggest that guests plan to see no more than two or three different museums this day, allowing adequate time to enjoy the experience and to travel between individual sites.

Free shuttle buses will operate throughout the day with stopping points located adjacent to most – but not all – participating museums. The California Museum for History, Women & the Arts serves as the central transfer point for the five shuttle routes in operation during Sacramento Museum Day.

“Step-on” tour guides will be on board to assist riders and narrate the route, courtesy of the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau. Riders with special needs will be accommodated courtesy of Paratransit.

“Whatever you do,” says Museum Day Coordinator Paul Hammond, “consider visiting museums that you’ve never been to – or perhaps have never even heard of. That’s what this event is all about: discovering the many different museums that are right here in our own backyard.”

Sacramento Museum Day 2008 is supported by Umpqua Bank. Media sponsors include KVIE Public Television, Capital Public Radio, Outword magazine and News10’s Sacramento & Co.

Detailed information about participating museums, suggested parking, public transit options and free event shuttle routes is available at sacmuseums.org (click on “Museum Day”), or by calling the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau at (916) 808-7777.

Participating museums: Aerospace Museum of California; California Foundry History Museum; California State Military Museum; California State Capitol Museum; California Museum for History, Women & the Arts; California State Indian Museum; California State Railroad Museum; Crocker Art Museum; Discovery Museum’s Gold Rush History Center; Discovery Museum’s Science & Space Center; Donald F. Salvatori California Pharmacy Museum; Explorit Science Center; Fairytale Town; Folsom History Museum; Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park; Heidrick Ag History Center; Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park; Museum of Medical History; Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum; Old Sacramento State Historic Park; Sacramento Zoo; Sacramento Historic City Cemetery; Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park; Towe Auto Museum; Wells Fargo History Museum (Old Sacramento location only).

(Note that the Crocker Art Museum is under construction for its major expansion. Parking and gallery access will be limited, and shuttle service will not be offered to the Crocker Art Museum this year.)
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Explorit Science Center is open from 2-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 11 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Admission is $4 general, free for teachers and ages 3 and under. Explorit is at 2801 Second Street, Davis. For more information: (530) 756-0191 or www.explorit.org.