California Statewide Museum Collections Center

I checked out the Ca Statewide Museum Collections Center for FREE Sacramento Museum Day 2/1/14.They don't let you bring any large bags, no food, no water, No cameras allowed in the Lobby & also on the Tour!All the stuff that no longer fit into the state parks regular locations, they go here & they clean it & whatever they do.Stuff I saw:sofas, chairs, Archive Room, Photography Room, etc.

Very cool place! They have a brand new exhibit with items from around the state. You learn a bit about the parks service and some of their parks. There is plenty of parking. We were able to take a behind the scenes tour on Free Museum Day. It was amazing. Their collection is incredible- lots of stuff from Sutter's Fort (donated by Californians during its time as the State History Museum), the Panama Pacific International Exposition, and furniture from some well known Californians (Reagan and the Roosevelts). The tour was the best part. Staff said that public tours will be made available by appointment for a small fee soon. They are also working on implementing a volunteer program. While the facility stores collections from nearly all state parks (over 200), the Railroad Museum, State Indian Museum, and Sutter's Fort are heavily represented. In addition to their object collection the facility houses the California State Parks Archive. If you are looking for materials about the state parks you should contact their archivists to make an appointment to see the items. The facility also houses an archaeological center open to study and an incredible center for online school interaction (http://www.ports.parks.ca.gov/pages/22922/files/ports_handout_2014.pdf) I was really impressed by their friendly staff and the access we received. As the earlier reviewer noted no large backpackss, food, or water is allowed nor can you take photos on tours. These measures ensure the safety of the priceless objects they are charged with caring for. It is standard practice for museum and archival collections. Sadly their hours are limited and only allow you to see their main exhibit. I really hope there are more tours scheduled for the near future. They've been open for less than a year and it seems like things change quickly so call ahead to see if tours are available before you go.

I visited the SMCC (California Statewide Museum Collections Center) on free museum day (the first Saturday in February in Sacramento Valley). I was very impressed with the collection of artifacts, their archaeology department was impressive, the document collection sounded spectacular, but I believe their biggest asset was their staff. They were very friendly and gave a very good tour. I would recommend this tour highly!