The inaugural ball in Nashville may not be in your party plans this weekend, but the swearing-in of Bill Haslam as Tennessee’s 49th governor will be a ticket to celebrate the state.
Across Tennessee on Saturday, 71 museums, zoos, historic sites and other tourist attractions will offer free or discounted admission to visitors.
Locally, Chattanooga Zoo, Creative Discovery Museum and the Tennessee Aquarium will admit visitors for half-price. The Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga and the Museum Center at Five Points in Cleveland will be open at no charge.
Here are highlights from the local places. If you’re inclined to travel, view the full list at www.billhaslam.net/attractions.
CHATTANOOGA ZOO
• Address: 301 N. Holtzclaw Ave.
• Deal of the day: Half-price admission ($4 adults, $2.50 children).
• Saturday hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
• See and do: Ongoing improvements and additions have made Chattanooga Zoo a mini trip around the globe. The property is divided into six inhabited sections, with animals who feel at home in each geographic location: the Gombe Forest (including chimpanzees and servals), Corcovado Jungle (jaguars, spider monkeys), Himalayan Passage (snow leopards, red pandas), Misunderstood Marvels (Burmese python, poison dart frog), Walkin’ the Tracks (cougars, prairie dogs) and the Warner Park Ranch (dromedary camels, barn owl). Zookeeper chats and enrichment opportunities are scheduled 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Find out more: 697-1322, 697-1319, www.ChattZoo.org.
CREATIVE DISCOVERY MUSEUM
• Address: 321 Chestnut St.
• Deal of the day: Half-price admission ($5.45 ages 2 to adult).
• Saturday hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
• See and do: On the heels of the real thing earlier this week, Creative Discovery Museum takes the fun indoors with Snow Day on Saturday. Activities from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. include making snow ice cream, snowball fights, snow tales, 3D snowflake art, mini icebergs, an Ice Queen show and the museum’s version of ice fishing. At 2 p.m., the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera String and Wind Quintet will offer a 30-minute PopTots performance. The current exhibit is “Winter Wonders.”
• Find out more: 756-2738, www.cdmfun.org.
HUNTER MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
• Address: 10 Bluff View.
• Deal of the day: Free admission.
• Saturday hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
• See and do: Innovative works from seven regional artists are highlighted in “Hunter Invitational 2010,” which closes Sunday. Their mediums vary widely, but “an unfailing devotion to their work, a deep-rooted need to create and a desire for constant exploration and change” are the artists’ common thread, says Nandini Makrandi, the museum’s curator of contemporary art. Featured artists are Daud Akhriev (paintings), Michael Aurbach (architectural installations), Pradip Malde (platinum-palladium printed photographs), Lin C. Parker (mixed-media artist books), Amy Pleasant (drawings and paintings), Billy Weeks (documentary still photographs) and Sunkoo Yuh (porcelain sculptures).
• Find out more: 267-0968, www.HunterMuseum.org.
TENNESSEE AQUARIUM
• Address: 1 Broad St.
• Deal of the day: Half-price admission ($12.48 adults, $7.48 children 3-12); tickets must be purchased on-site.
• Saturday hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
• See and do: Dive shows, touch tanks and animal encounters are part of the daily routine, but chances to mingle with the inhabitants of Penguins’ Rock are limited to the next seven Saturdays. In these 30-minute, behind-the-scenes tours, an aviculturist takes visitors to a private observation deck above the rookery and explains the care required for these charismatic animals and the individual personalities they exhibit. Then it’s down to open the keeper door to see who comes through looking for a treat. Usually, it’s the gregarious gentoo, Nipper, but macaronis Pepper and Shamrock have been known to strike a pose for the cameras. Meet-the-Penguins encounters are limited to six guests (ages 5 and up) at each session, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Cost for nonmembers is $15 in addition to aquarium admission.
• Find out more: 800-262-0695, www.TennesseeAquarium.com.
MUSEUM CENTER AT FIVE POINTS
• Address: 200 E. Inman St., Cleveland.
• Deal of the day: Free admission.
• Saturday hours: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• See and do: Visitors can explore Southern Appalachian history from the Cherokees to the present in the award-winning interactive exhibit “River of Time.” Set up chronologically, the exhibit looks at seven distinct time periods in the history of Bradley County, with each introduced by a video featuring a fictional character who might have lived in the area at the time. The characters talk about life in their individual time periods, setting the stage for the artifacts on view. These include a covered wagon and several rare examples of wood and gas stoves in Cleveland’s manufacturing history.
• Find out more: 423-339-5745, www.Museum Center.org.