First Saturdays in the First State joins Dover Days festivities

First State Heritage Park will participate in the annual Dover Days celebration with its monthly First Saturdays in the First State, Saturday, May 5, offering a variety of free programs and activities. Information on all the events of Dover Days weekend, sponsored by Kent County & Greater Dover Convention and Visitors Bureau, can be found at visitdover.com.

The park will once again sponsor steam car rides from 1 to 4 p.m. Two circa-1910 steam cars from the Marshall Steam Museum at Auburn Heights Preserve will give free rides around The Green. The museum houses the world’s largest collection of operating steam cars, ranging in age from 90 to 110 years old.

Visitors to The Green can visit the John Bell House, where Dover’s School of Dance will recreate the atmosphere of an 18th-century dancing school. Participants will learn some easy dance steps to be ready to join the party.

Regular First Saturday activities include tours of the two capitol buildings in Delaware’s capital city, The Old State House and Legislative Hall. Tours of the governor’s residence at Woodburn and Hall House will also be available, and walking tours of The Green will be offered. Exhibits are on display at the Johnson Victrola Museum, the First State Heritage Park Welcome Center and Galleries and the Biggs Museum of American Art, which also features its monthly Biggs Kids program.

A special behind-the-scenes tour of the Delaware Public Archives begins at 1:30 p.m. Until further notice, the Mabel Lloyd Ridgely Research Room at the Delaware Public Archives will not be open to researchers on the first Saturday of the month. Instead, the facility will be open to researchers on the second Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Admission to all park sites is free. Centrally located free parking is available at the First State Heritage Park Welcome Center and Galleries, 121 Duke of York St. For more information about The First State Heritage Park programs, the public may call 302-739-9194 or visit destateparks.com/heritagepark.

Tours of the governor's house at Woodburn will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., 151 Kings Highway.  Woodburn is  the official residence of Delaware’s governor since 1965, and Hall House is the governor’s guest house.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m, Biggs Kidds will offer paper flower crafts for children 12 and under.  Biggs Museum of American Art is at 406 Federal St.

Walking tours of The Green are scheduled from noon to 3 p.m., when the last tour leaves.  This tour meets at the John Bell House on The Green and covers the historic district.

A tour of the Delaware Public Archives, 121 Duke of York St., is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. This tour offers offers the opportunity to see how the Archives preserves and protects the records that are important to every Delawarean.

The First State Heritage Park Welcome Center and Galleries, also at 121 Duke of York St., is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 and offers two exhibits. One is USS Delaware: An American Battleship, which tells the story of the ship through objects, photographs and ceremonial silver.

The second exhibit is The Civil War: Five Delaware Soldiers’ Stories, which recognizes the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War. Through the state’s collection of objects, portraits and documents, personal experiences of the brutal journey through the War of the Rebellion are revealed.

The Biggs Museum of American Art offers Jewels of the Generations: The Legacy of Loockerman and Bradford Family of Dover.  Self-guided tours feature furniture, clothing, jewelry, ceramics and silver owned by this 18th- and 19th- century Dover family.

Guided tours of Legislative Hall-Delaware’s Capitol, 411 Legislative Ave., will take place throughout the day.  Visitors may tour the House and Senate chambers to learn about the legislature and Delaware history. Photo ID is required for all adults entering the building.  Tours of The Old State House will also take place.

The Johnson Victrola Museum, at 375 S. New St., will present The Story of Nipper the Dog, where visitors will learn the origins of the famous trademark of the Victor Talking Machine Company.