On Monday, April 1, the Hutchings Museum was open for
their monthly Family Night. This was the second Family Night for the museum’s
new special event, open on the first Monday of each month from 6:30 p.m. to
8:30 p.m. During the event, the museum is open to families and individuals to enjoy
new exhibits. Exhibits include the historic newspaper display and the upcoming
mining exhibit, and the long-standing favorites like the wild-west and fossil
rooms.
Each month, museum volunteers will present a unique
and brief 20-minute presentation at 7 p.m. for interested museum patrons. The
evening’s presentation was a live animal show, presented by museum volunteers
in the fossil room. Volunteers taught about a variety of animals to a packed
room. Learning about snakes, chameleons, and even a Gila monster, kept the
audience’s rapt attention for the entire presentation.
The evening hours made the museum more accessible to
families and patrons who are unable to attend during regular daytime hours. One
patron said, “I have been wanting to come to the museum with my kids, but
haven’t been able to make it before because of my work hours. It’s a fun
museum, we will probably make this a monthly thing.” Many families participated
in the museum’s “treasure hunt,” where kids search for a variety of objects
around the museum. Once each pictured object had been found, kids choose an
item from the treasure box guarded by the museum host at the front desk.
Next month’s Family Night at the Hutchings Museum will
be held on May 6, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults and $3 for
children. Yearly family passes are also available for purchase. More
information about the Hutchings Museum can be found at https://johnhutchingsmuseum.org/
