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ALBANY – This year’s Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial celebration provided inspiration for the New York State Museum’s 8th annual “Haunted Museum of Unnatural History – the 1609 Quadricenterror.”

The “Haunted Museum” will be open October 24 and 25 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., October 30 from 6 to 10 p.m. and on Halloween, October 31 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. It will be located in the Student Center on the Museum’s first floor.

The “Monster Mash & Bash” will provide light-hearted fun for younger children, aged 10 and under. It will be held on the Museum’s fourth floor Terrace Gallery on October 24, 25 and 31, from noon to 4 p.m. Children and their families are invited to dress for a 1 p.m. costume parade, which will end at the Carousel. The“Monster Mash & Bash” will feature Halloween crafts. The Smile Monster will make an appearance on Sunday, October 25 and Saturday, October 31.

Visitors to the “Haunted Museum” will first enter a pirate ship, the “Hell Moon,” where they will see crew members representing those on Henry Hudson’s Halfmoon. They then will step aboard a dock that curves around in the “Port of Terror” where they will be surrounded by “water” and sounds of the ocean. Stepping back on land, visitors will enter into the dark “Alleyway,” a lawless area where beggars and thieves roam free in old New Netherland. Next will be the “Tenement,” a dingy, overcrowded room of tight quarters where society’s most unfortunate rest wherever they can. The hopelessness and despair led some of the poor to the next area -- the “Asylum,” which includes an area where lobotomies are performed. From there, visitors will enter the mouth and then into the mind of one of the patients. The final encounter will be the gravesite where Henry Hudson may make an appearance.

Visitors are advised that the intense lighting, sounds and special effects are not for everyone and definitely not suitable for children under 10. Anyone under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. “Haunted Museum” visitors are asked not to wear costumes, but costumes are encouraged for the “Monster Mash & Bash.”

Proceeds from both events will benefit the Museum’s after-school programs for Albany city youth. Admission to the “Haunted Museum” is $8. Monster Mash admission is $2. The Halloween events are a significant source of funding for the Museum’s youth programs, making it possible for many children to attend educational after-school programs tuition-free or at reduced cost. Youths involved in the Discovery Squad teen program and the Time Tunnel summer camp, are taking an active role in planning and building the “Haunted Museum.”

The New York State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department’soffice of Cultural Education. Founded in 1836, the museum has the longestcontinuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 p.m. to 5p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

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