The price – free – is right for annual showcase of Sacramento-area museums
Residents of Sacramento and the surrounding area have the opportunity stuff their brains and burnish their souls on Saturday when many of the region’s museums and gathering places fling open their doors and invite young and old in for free or half-price admission.
The 19th annual Sacramento Museum Day – sponsored by Sutter Health and Bank of America and coordinated by the Sacramento Association of Museums (SAM) and Visit California – carries on a tradition that places the sharing of knowledge above admission receipts.
This year, 26 venues are participating, many standing as repositories of what we consider traditional examples of how our forebears lived, scientific breakthroughs, whimsical gewgaws and significant social or political milestones. Others offer insights into singular corners of life and how we pursue it, basically what makes us tick. Some are there for young people, their curiosity and the quest for plain old fun.
Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town, both in residential areas, are charging half price on Saturday to offset anticipated parking and traffic-control costs. SAM member museums Aerospace Museum of California (closed to prepare for a major new exhibit), Crocker Art Museum (charging $5 admission) and California Statewide Museum Collections Center are not part of this year’s program, SAM said on its web page.
Doors will open at 10 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. No one will be admitted to any of the locations after 4 p.m.
Though there is a bounty of exhibits and artifacts to consider, SAM suggests visitors choose no more than two or three venues to visit, “in order to allow adequate time to enjoy the experience and to travel between individual sites.”
Here’s what’s out there:
PARTICIPATING MUSEUMS
▪ California Agriculture Museum; 1962 Hays Lane, Woodland CA, 95776.
▪ California Automobile Museum; 2200 Front St., Sacramento, CA, 95818.
▪ California Museum; 1020 O St., Sacramento CA, 95814.
▪ California State Capitol Museum; 1315 10th St., Sacramento CA, 95814.
▪ California State Library; 914 Capitol Mall, Sacramento CA 95814.
▪ California State Railroad Museum; 125 I St., Sacramento CA, 95814.
▪ Don & June Salvatori California Pharmacy Museum; 4030 Lennane Drive, Sacramento CA, 95834.
▪ Fairytale Town; 3901 Land Park Drive, Sacramento CA, 95822, half-price admission.
▪ Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park; 800 N St., Sacramento CA, 95814.
▪ Locke Boarding House Museum; 13916 Main Street, Locke CA, 95690.
▪ Maidu Museum & Historic Site (Roseville); 1970 Johnson Ranch Drive, Roseville CA, 95661.
▪ Museum of Medical History; 5380 Elvas Ave., Sacramento CA, 95819.
▪ Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum; 1200 Front Street, Old Sacramento CA, 95814.
▪ Old Sacramento State Historic Park; Between J and I streets, west of Interstate 5 to the Sacramento River, Sacrameno CA, 94814.
▪ Powerhouse Science Center Discovery Campus; 3615 Auburn Blvd., Sacramento CA, 95821.
▪ Roseville Utility Exploration Center; 1501 Pleasant Grove Blvd., Roseville CA, 95747.
▪ Sacramento Children's Museum; 2701 Prospect Park Drive No. 120, Rancho Cordova CA, 95670.
▪ Sacramento Historic City Cemetery; Broadway at 10th Street, Sacramento CA, 95818.
▪ Sacramento History Museum; 101 I St., Old Sacramento CA, 95814
▪ Sacramento Zoo; 3930 Land Park Drive, Sacramento CA, 95822, half-price admission..
▪ Sojourner Truth African American Museum; 2251 Florin Road, Sacramento CA, 95822.
▪ State Indian Museum; 1416 9th St., Sacramento CA, 95814.
▪ Sutter's Fort State Historic Park; 2701 L St., Sacramento CA, 95816.
▪ Verge Center for the Arts; 625 S St., Sacramento CA, 95811.
▪ Wells Fargo History Museums; Old Sacramento – 1000 2nd St., Sacramento CA, 95814; Capitol Mall – 400 Capaaaaitol Mall, Sacramento CA, 95814.
This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 10:31 AM with the headline "The price – free – is right for annual showcase of Sacramento-area museums."