Museum Crawl will showcase 13 museums in 3 counties

Photos by Tom Rivers – The Cobbblestone Universalist Church, one of the historic structures in the Cobblestone Museum grounds on Ridge Road in Gaines, will be part of this weekend’s Museum Crawl in three counties.

A multi-museum project that started last year, linking five museums along Route 98 from Batavia to Lake Ontario, is growing in a big way this weekend.

The Museum Crawl has expanded to 13 locations in three counties, and isn’t limited to spots along Route 98.

This weekend residents are invited to get a passport at one of the 13 participating museums and tour the locations on both Saturday and Sunday. A $5 admission gets history hunters into all of the locations. (It’s $10 for a family pass.)

The Ward House in the Cobblestone Museum includes household artifacts from the 1800s, including this bathtub for a small child.

If people get their passports stamped by at least 8 of the locations, they will be eligible for discounts and prize baskets.

“It’s a really good idea for museums to showcase themselves,” said Georgia Thomas, a member of the board of directors for both the Medina Historical Society and Cobblestone Museum. “People can crawl to all of these museums and get a sense of the local history and Western New York history.”

The 13 sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days.

The Medina Historical Society includes a display of many of the toys made by Fisher-Price. The company started producing toys in Medina in 1970. This Pull-A-Tune Pony was among the first to be produced in the former Heinz factory on Park Avenue.

The groups participating in the crawl this year in Orleans County include the Oak Orchard Lighthouse, Cobblestone Museum, the Daughters of American Revolution House in Albion, Medina Historical Society Museum and Medina Railroad Museum.

In Genesee County, the participating sites include the Alabama Historical Society, Oakfield Historical Museum, Bergen-Harford Livery Museum, Stafford Historical Museum and Alexander Historical Museum. In Wyoming County, the Attica Historical Museum will be on the Crawl.

Thomas said the event has museum volunteers and staff networking, and sharing success stories and tips for best showcasing their collections.

She urges the community to check out some of the sites.

“Museums hold the past and there is room for the future,” Thomas said.

Fisher-Price made toys in Medina from 1970 to 1997, employing 950 people at its peak locally. Fisher-Price topped 100 million toys made in Medina on May 29, 1980 with this ferry boat.