News Release No. 508

NEW OPERATIONAL HOURS ANNOUNCED FOR
MARK TWAIN BIRTHPLACE STATE HISTORIC SITE

Volume 33-508

Contact: Sue Holst

(For immediate release)

573-751-6510

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, DEC. 16, 2005 -- New winter operational hours have been announced for Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site near Florida, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

From Nov. 1 through March 31, Mark Twain Memorial Shrine at the Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The site will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays unless it is a holiday, in which case it will be open. Group tours can still be scheduled in advance for a Monday or Tuesday during this period and the museum will open to accommodate the group.

The new operational hours will result in cost savings for the site and provide better service to the public because it will allow two staff people to be available to the assist the public instead of one.

From April 1 to Oct. 31 of each year, the museum will return to its normal operational hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day of the week.

Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site is located adjacent to the village of Florida in Mark Twain State Park off of Highway 107. For more information about the site, call 573-565-3449 or call the Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf ). For more information about Missouri state parks and historic sites, visit the Web at www.mostateparks.com.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the upcoming meetings and events in the state park system, visit the online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/parkssearch.do.

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