A free, family-friendly party complete with cake and favors will take place at the L. Alan Cruikshank River of Time Museum Saturday, March 26.

The museum event, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is one of a number of activities happening in Fountain Hills that day. The museum also will participate in Fountain Hills Day and the Dark Sky Festival Saturday.

Docents will be on hand to tell stories about life in the Lower Verde River Valley from the time before humans arrived to present day. Family-friendly crafts, hands-on exploration activities and a scavenger hunt will be located on the patio along with human and animal representatives from Liberty Wildlife. Other conservation related organizations include the Salt River Horse Management group and Fountain Hills Biophilic.

The newly reimagined exhibits follow a timeline from pre-human history into the future with a focus on the water resources that have sustained life in the region.

As visitors travel through, they’ll encounter the ancient Yavapai and Hohokam, fur trappers and miners, soldiers and canal builders. Present day Yavapai leaders and the ranchers who managed the lands where Fountain Hills is now located are also featured. Stunning videography illustrates the narrative in an original video designed to introduce visitors to life in the Lower Verde Valley region.

Interactive displays at the museum include a one-of-a-kind, augmented reality sand table. The hands-on exhibit can be manipulated to create topographic representations of mountains, streams and various weather patterns. Visitors can also play archaeologist and dig in the sand to uncover dinosaur bones.

As part of the significant renovation, the former store space was redesigned as an art gallery and exhibition space where stunning works by Fountain Hills first resident Sally Atchinson currently are featured. The gallery will change several times throughout the year and feature a selection of artists and exhibits related to the Southwest.

The River of Time is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 65+ and $7 for children six to 18, as well as veterans and health care workers. Members, Fountain Hills students with ID and children under five are admitted free. The museum is located at 12901 N. La Montana Blvd. For more information visit riveroftime.museum.