LODI – Visit and pet a variety of live farm animals every weekend this summer at the new Critter Corral in the San Joaquin County Historical Museum at Micke Grove Regional Park. Encounters with the animals are free with regular museum admission, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., through Sept. 1.

The 18-acre historical museum reveals the rich history of San Joaquin County in eight exhibition buildings, four historic buildings, and the Sunshine Trail, a living exhibition of native plants and habitats. A special banner exhibit, “Wherever There’s a Fight: A History of Civil Liberties in California,” will be on display through the summer. A traveling exhibit from The Smithsonian Institution, “The Way We Worked,” will be at the museum from Oct. 6 to Nov. 16. Also coming soon are a new Delta Water Path, a new water-efficiency demonstration garden, and new interior exhibits on the Native people of the area, the early American and Hudson’s Bay Company trappers (who founded French Camp), and the American settlers who traveled the California Trail to establish farms in California’s heartland.

Regular Museum admission is $5 for adults (18-64), $4 for seniors (65+) and teens (13-17), and $2 for children (6-12). Admission is free for children 5 and under and for members of the San Joaquin County Historical Society. There is a parking fee for each vehicle entering Micke Grove Regional park. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday; closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

The San Joaquin County Historical Society operates the Historical Museum in Micke Grove Regional Park. The Society provides education programs for school groups such as “Valley Days” and “Pioneer School Day” (in the 1866 Calaveras School). The Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. For more information see www.SanJoaquinHistory.org.