Martin Luther King Day opportunity to appreciate the community

Carson City activities on Monday will offer families several opportunities to appreciate their community while observing the national Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

-- The Nevada State Museum, 600 N. Carson St., offers an "appreciation and understanding of cultural diversity," said Museum Director Jim Barmore.

The cost to explore American Indian artifacts and native Nevada life in the "Under One Sky" exhibit is $3 for adults, $2.50 for seniors and nothing for children 17 and younger.

Both buildings of the museum will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday. The exhibits also highlight Nevada history, including geology, archeology and mining. A walk-through mine tour puts visitors inside an authentic underground mine.

Call 687-4811 for more information.

-- In the mood for a stroll? The Blue Line Tour that skirts through historic downtown Carson City is open anytime and can provide insight into the past.

The trail, a 2.5-mile path through Carson City's historical home district, offers an informational tour of the city's Wild West days. A blue line painted on the sidewalk marks the route and features private homes, museums and churches. By tuning into an AM radio station during the tour, visitors can get insight and anecdotes about the town and some of its more colorful personalities.

Maps and instructions can be found at area motels and hotels, as well as outside the Convention and Visitor's Bureau center. The center, 1900 S. Carson St., will be closed but maps can be found in the rack outside.

-- The Children's Museum of Northern Nevada, 813 N. Carson St., will be open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. where children can create crafts in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Cost is $3 for adults, $2 for children ages 3 to 13 and free for children 2 and younger.

-- The Nevada Railroad Museum, 2180 S. Carson St., will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday. The museum is filled with old trains that used to run on the tracks of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad.

-- In Virginia City, there are several affordable walk-through museums open Monday. Sandra Tetz, administrative assistant at the Virginia City Chamber of Commerce visitor's center, said she suggests visitors take the VC Tours trolley car first.

The trolley tour costs $3 for adults and $2 for children and covers 2 1/2 miles of town, including churches, mansions and museums. "Then they can go back and visit what they liked," Tetz said.

Museums open Monday include the Ponderosa Mine tour, "The Way it Was" museum, the Nevada Gambling Museum, Marshall Mint with its geological museum and the Mckay Mansion.

The visitor's center inside the Crystal Bar, 86 S. C St., also has a map of seven cemeteries where people representing 15 dominations are buried, Tetz said. Call 847-0311 for more information.

Monday's holiday schedules include:

-- Senior centers in Fernley, Silver Springs, Dayton and Douglas County will be closed. Carson City, Storey County and Yerington will be open.

-- Nevada State Library & Archives will be closed, as are most other state and federal buildings, including post offices.

-- Carson City Library will be closed Monday and reopen at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

-- The Storey County Library will be closed Monday. The library's regular hours are Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2 to 8 p.m., Thursdays from 2 to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

-- Carson City Hall will be closed for the holiday. The front counter of the Carson City Sheriff's Department will be open during regular hours, but the jail will be closed to visitors for the holiday.

-- Carson public schools are closed Monday. Western Nevada Community College office also will be closed. College classes resume Tuesday as the new semester begins.

-- The Boys & Girls Club of Western Nevada at Stewart and Fifth streets will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday. Children need to bring a lunch.