Madison Watkins, Staff Writer
While most knew this past Sunday as the highly anticipated match-up between the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots, many in the state of Georgia knew it was also known as Super Museum Sunday.
Super Museum Sunday is an annual event to celebrate Georgia’s history and encourages people to see what their local community has to offer. Most notably, all of the museums and historic sites participating allowed free or heavily discounted entry.
The city of Savannah outdid itself by having more museums and historic sites open for free entry than any other area in the state. Savannah, along with Tybee Island, had 40 different options. Some of these options included: the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Lucas Theatre for the Arts, Wormsloe Historic Site, Tybee Island Light Station and Museum and Old Fort Jackson.
The event presented a pleasant surprise for some museum-goers who were not aware of the free entry. Savannah College of Art and Design graduate student Annie Bauer said she was already planning on bringing a friend to the Wormsloe Historic Site.
The Wormsloe Historic Site was the estate of Noble Jones, who was one of the first settlers that joined James Oglethorpe from England. The site is known for its long pathway lined with live oak trees and Spanish moss. “We have been here multiple times already and we love seeing the view,” Bauer said.
For a few sites in particular, this day signified great progress. The Oatland Island Wildlife Center, Pin Point Heritage Museum and Fort Pulaski National Monument were severely damaged by Hurricane Matthew. Even though all three sites are now open again, work still has to be done.
“There is still lots of damage to the fort from Hurricane Matthew,” Chelsie Spalding, a volunteer at Fort Pulaski, said. The bridge to get to the fort remains under construction on one side. Spalding is confident that they will continue to keep making progress, “We try to host as many events throughout the year as we can for people to come to. It adds up to usually five or six a year.”
Olivia Wright, a sophomore secondary education major said that she would highly recommend this event “because it’s a cool way to see the historic side of Savannah for cheap.”
“I probably wouldn’t be able to go to some of the museums otherwise because I am on a student budget!…I’d rather go to the museums in Savannah than watch the Super Bowl because it’s more interactive and you get to learn and do more,” Royce King, recent Armstrong alumnus, said.
For more community events, visit georgiahistoryfestival.org.
