How the Pennsylvania Maple Museum came to Somerset County

SOMERSET ― Maple tree tapping may be over for the year, but here's a new opportunity in Somerset County to experience the thrill of the maple syrup-making season all year long.

On Saturday, the Pennsylvania Maple Museum officially opens to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Somerset Historical Center, 10649 Somerset Pike. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled at 2 p.m. Guests are invited to come and check out the new exhibits, enjoy some maple treats and watch live demonstrations of maple-related crafts, like spotza (pouring hot maple syrup over crushed ice), sugar stirring (making maple syrup into sugar), coopering (bucket making), spile (spigot) and scrub brush making.

A preview of the museum: Pa. Maple Museum open for the 2024 Maple Tour

What you'll see at the maple museum

The Pennsylvania Maple Mu seum gives visitors a closer look at the history and equipment behind one of the commonwealth's best-known agricultural products, with more than 100 artifacts of items used over 300 years of maple production in Somerset County and Pennsylvania.

"It's fitting that a state maple museum is located in Somerset," said Mark Ware, executive director of the Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County, in a release announcing the museum's grand opening.

"Somerset County has been a huge producer of maple products since the late 1700s, due to its climate, high elevation and large farm population."

Celebrating the USA: Looking for Fourth of July festivities? Here are some we've found

Visitors will then be able to see the museum during the Somerset Historical Center's normal open hours, which are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

The creation of the Pennsylvania Maple Museum was funded by donations from the Pennsylvania Maple Producers Association, Somerset County Maple Producers, Sechler's Sugar Shack and other donors, as well as grants from the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies , the Somerset County Tourism Grant Program and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission .

Elephants and more: This animal conservancy has several endangered animals to view

Many of the exhibits in the museum were donated by Ware and his wife, Janis, the Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County and various maple producers.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: How the Pennsylvania Maple Museum came to Somerset County