The 96th anniversary of Arizona statehood will be celebrated from 10 am–4 PM on Thursday, February 14, at “Museums on the Mall: Celebrating Arizona’s Statehood” at the Arizona State Capitol in downtown Phoenix, and two new exhibits about Arizona history will open.

Chief Justice Ruth McGregor will kick off the Statehood Day program leading the Pledge of Allegiance at 12:30 pm in the historic Senate Chamber. Governor Napolitano has been invited to deliver a statehood proclamation, with presentations to follow by Senate President Tim Bee and Speaker of the House Jim Weiers. The Polly Rosenbaum Award winner will be announced, and the student winners of the Polly Rosenbaum Writing Contest will be awarded prizes for their essays on the topic of “How the Character of Arizona’s Youth Affects Arizona’s Future.”

Between 10 am and 1:30 pm, Arizona’s history will be celebrated with museum exhibitors from around the state who will be showing artifacts and providing hands-on activities and demonstrations for children and families on the Senate Lawn.

Two new exhibits featuring important pieces of Arizona history will also open on Statehood Day. The historic Carnegie Library located just east of the State Capitol (1101 W. Washington) will turn 100 years old on Feb. 14. The Carnegie Library was the first permanent library building in Phoenix. To commemorate its influence on Phoenix and Arizona, an exhibit about its important history, The Carnegie: Behind Every Library There Is a Story, will be unveiled on Statehood Day and is open to the public from 2 to 4 pm. Attendance is free and refreshments and will be served.

Also, the Arizona Capitol Museum, in collaboration with The University of Arizona, is opening its newest exhibit Up from the Ashes: Phoenix Goes to Mars immediately preceding the Statehood Day Ceremony at 12 pm. This exhibit highlights The University of Arizona’s Phoenix Mars Mission, from project development, launch, touchdown and the resulting research. The display will be updated as data is analyzed and new information is made available from mission control in Tucson. It is free and open to the public.

The “Museums on the Mall” celebration is coordinated by the Arizona Humanities Council (AHC); the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records (ASLAPR); the Central Arizona Museum Association; and the Museum Association of Arizona, and is sponsored by Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Arizona Museum of Natural History, Phoenix Airport Museum, Pueblo Grande Museum, and The Sharlot Hall Museum. All the day’s activities are free and open to the public. Parking is available in lots east and west of the Capitol and at the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum.

For more information about the Arizona Humanities Council visit online at www.azhumanities.org <http://www.azhumanities.org/> ; for the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, visit online at www.lib.az.us <http://www.lib.az.us> ; for the Central Arizona Museums Association visit online at www.azcama.com <http://www.azcama.com/> ; for the Museums Association of Arizona visit online at www.azmuseums.org <http://www.azmuseums.org/> .