Thronateeska Heritage Center to participate in Museum Day Live!
Free Wetherbee Planetarium shows planned Saturday for patrons with Museum Day Live! tickets
Staff Reports
ALBANY — The Thronateeska Heritage Center will open its doors free of charge Saturday as part of “Smithsonian” magazine’s 13th annual “Museum Day Live!”
Museum Day Live! is an initiative during which participating museums across the United States emulate the spirit of the Smithsonian Institution’s facilities in Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian offers free admission every day, and Southwest Georgians who download a Museum Day Live! ticket will have the opportunity to gain free admission at Thronateeska Saturday.
The event is meant to represent a nationwide commitment to “boundless curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge.” More than 200,000 people downloaded tickets for last year’s event, and more museum-goers are expected to take advantage this year.
“Museum Day Live! is an extremely important event for museums and cultural intuitions to be involved with,” Hannah Beth Hembree, programs manager at Thronateeska Heritage Center, said. “Events like this bring other museums together and make them more accessible to the general public by offering free admission.
“Although our museums at Thronateeska are already free, our (Wetherbee Planetarium) shows are $3.50 but will be free with a Museum Day Live! ticket.”
Thronateeska, a not-for-profit organization incorporated in 1974, aims for historic preservation and science education in Albany and Southwest Georgia. Its campus at 100 W. Roosevelt Ave. includes a history museum, science museum, rail car display, a 40-foot full dome, high-definition planetarium, the Georgia Museum of Surveying and Mapping, and the South Georgia Archives.
Thronateeska’s museum facilities are housed in historic structures and new construction designed to reflect and retain the railroad heritage of the area.
Museum Day Live! tickets are available for download at www.smithsonian.com/museumday. Visitors who present the Museum Day Live! ticket will gain free entrance for two at participating venues. One ticket per email is permitted.
For more information about Museum Day Live! 2017 and a full list of participating museums and cultural institutions, visit www.smithsonian.com/museumday.
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