Museum offering free Presidents Day events

FREMONT — Celebrate Presidents Day with free admission and activities on Monday at the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums site in Fremont — known as America's first presidential library. Hayes Presidential will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and offer a day-long celebration that will be centered around the America 250 – Ohio Celebration's February theme of Ohio Works: Innovation, Industry and Business. Visitors can take a free, self-guided tour of the museum and sign up for a free tour of the first floor of the Hayes Home. Hayes Home tours will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and no advance reservations are taken. The first tour is at 9:15 a.m., and the last tour is at 4:30 p.m. Attendees must check in at the museum front desk to get their tour time and tickets. The research library will be closed for the holiday. There will be a variety of events and activities in the museum, including scavenger hunts and crafts themed on innovation and invention, a presidential photo station, gallery talks in the special exhibit "Inside President Hayes' Library," presidential trivia and story time. Visitors can also vote for their favorite Ohio invention, and the results will be announced in the afternoon. This annual celebration also honors America's semiquincentennial, happening throughout 2026. Hayes Presidential has several events and exhibits planned throughout the year for the nation's milestone anniversary. The Presidents Day Celebration is sponsored by the Knight-Baldwin Charitable Fund. Schedule of events Here's what attendees can expect to happen on Monday at the site: All day (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) • Museum opens for self-guided tours • Craft activities and scavenger hunt in the museum 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. • Vote for the favorite invention; There will be a designated ballot area. 9:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. • Tours of the Hayes Home first floor begin; Tours last about 30 minutes, and attendees must check in at the museum front desk to get their tour time and tickets. 10:15 a.m. • Gallery talk in the special exhibit "Inside President Hayes' Library;" For details on the exhibit, visit rbhayes.org. 11:30 a.m. • Storytime 1 p.m. Presidential trivia in the history lab on the lower level 1-4 p.m. • Horse-drawn trolley rides by South Creek Clydesdales; Trolley rides are $6 per rider but free for those 2 and younger. 1:30 p.m. • Storytime 2:15 p.m. • Gallery talk in the special exhibit "Inside President Hayes' Library" 3 p.m. • Presidential trivia in the history lab on the lower level 4:30 p.m. • Winner of the favorite invention election announced Hayes Presidential is America's first presidential library and the forerunner of the federal presidential library system. It is partially funded by the state of Ohio and affiliated with the Ohio History Connection. Hayes Presidential is located at Spiegel Grove on Buckland Avenue. For information, call 419-332-2081 or visit rbhayes.org.