Merced County residents get free entrance to Castle museum’s birthday celebration
Castle Air Museum in Atwater is celebrating its 45th birthday this month with a day of free fun for Merced County families.
The museum will offer free admission to Merced County residents on June 20, according to a post on its Facebook page.
The event will feature free access to the museum’s historic military aircraft collection, free hot dogs, chips and soda, and games and activities for kids.
The first 45 guests will receive a free 45th anniversary T-shirt.
“For 45 years, Castle Air Museum has worked to preserve the stories, aircraft, and sacrifices that shaped aviation history,” the post says. “We look forward to celebrating this milestone with the community that made it possible.”
The museum is adjacent to the former Castle Air Force Base, and officially opened to the public in 1981 as a nonprofit organization, according to castleairmuseum.org. The collection includes vintage military aircraft dating from pre-WWII to the present on about 25 acres.
The museum is at 5050 Santa Fe Drive. Castle opened in 1941 to teach basic flying skills that soon would be used in World War II. It later specialized in bombers and operated until 1995. The site today has a civilian airport and various business and local government uses along with the museum.
It has an outdoor display of about 80 military aircraft and a building with photos, uniforms and other memorabilia. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the last admission sold at 3:15 p.m.
