| arts & culture |
11 Must-See Museums by LINDA HOLDERNESS
El Dorado County Historical Museum and Western Railroad 104 Placerville Drive, Placerville, 530621-5865, museum.edcgov.us Learn about El Dorado County history, including the impacts of the railroad and Gold Rush. Exhibits on county women who made a difference, as well as Snowshoe Thompson. Volunteers greet people and talk about history. COVID-19 hours: The museum is closed, but the outdoor railroad still runs on Sundays (check the current hours and train schedule at museum.edcgov.us/el-doradowestern-railroad). A museum staffer will answer callers’ questions, and the website offers virtual exhibits on county history. Normal hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, noon-4 p.m.
Aerospace Museum of California 3200 Freedom Park Drive, McClellan, 916-643-3192, aerospaceca.org Explore the wonders of flight, hands-on. More than 40 aircraft, including rockets. Experience Mars exploration theater, Tuskegee heroes, Project Apollo, and STEM activity centers. Flight training for a small fee. Volunteers lead tours and activities, help with IT, admin, landscaping, and flight instruction. COVID-19 hours: Friday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (indoor exhibits are currently closed). Normal hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Carnegie Museum & Archives 557 Lincoln Street, Roseville, 916773-3003, rosevillehistorical.org Old Roseville comes to life inside this charming historic building. Displays include Fiddyment family history and
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| JANUARY 2021 |
Fountain & Tallman Museum their surrey, a room-size model train display featuring Roseville’s railyard, children’s area, and old Roseville newspapers. Volunteers serve as docents and greet visitors, or help with archiving, events, and assisting with restoring the Fiddyment ranch house for a future living history site. COVID-19 hours: closed but check their website for virtual activities. Normal hours: Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
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524 Main Street, Placerville, 530-6260773, eldoradocountyhistoricalsociety.org Here, in the rock rubble building that’s Main Street’s oldest, John Fountain and Benjamin Tallman carbonated spring water and sold it to the gold miners. Now a museum, the displays showcase Placerville history. COVID-19 hours: closed, but the website offers educational brochures for students. Normal hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Aerospace photo by Cheryl Holkan. Carnegie Museum photo by Greg Dowden. Other photos courtesy of their respective companies or organizations.
The Sacramento foothills may not boast a deYoung or the Met but tucked into nooks of our suburban communities can be found treasures even more charming: small museums that preserve the stories of who we used to be and who we’ve become. Visiting them, you can time-travel through our part of California—starting with the earliest inhabitants, the Nisenan, and continuing through the venturesome Gold Rush and railroad, all the way to space travel. Many of these museums are free or charge only a nominal fee—made possible by the legions of dedicated volunteers who maintain the collections and entertain visitors just for the love of it. Here’s a list of some such treasures you may want to check out.
