Big Crowds Expected Saturday For Museum Day

If you're planning to visit Sutter's Fort in Sacramento on Saturday, you may have to stand in line. Admission to the historic state park will be free as part of the 17th annual Sacramento Museum Day.

Lisa Mealoy is with Friends of Sutter's Fort. She says on a normal Saturday they get about 300 people visiting the park. But on Museum Day, it's more like 3,000 people. Mealoy recommends arriving later in the day.

"When we first open the gates things get fairly busy right up front," says Mealoy. "And then as you go through the day, you tend to have maybe a little bit of a slowdown, maybe around 2 p.m. or so."

Other places taking part in Museum Day include: The Sacramento Historic City Cemetery, the California State Railroad Museum and the Museum of Medical History.

Another site is the Heidrick Ag History Museum and Event Center in Woodland, dedicated to enhancing understanding of California's agricultural heritage. Lorili Ostman with the museum says the first thing people notice when they walk in is the aroma.

"And if you have any recollection at all of what it was like down on grandpa's farm you'll take this deep whiff of air and smell antique equipment," says Ostman. "You'll see harvesters that are probably about 20 feet tall in height."

The museum also features rare examples of tractors and other artifacts.

Mike Testa is with the Sacramento Convention and Visitor's Bureau. He says other businesses benefit from Museum Day too.

"We've definitely seen that with the restaurants near museums, they see a difference in this weekend," says Testa. "So there's economic impact. The museums are obviously free, but folks are spending money on other things."

Last year, Museum Day drew about 61,000 people. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.