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Olympia – Find out everything you ever wanted to know about the ongoing search for Sasquatch from some recognized leaders in the field. The State Capital Museum hosts Bigfoot Expeditions: The Search for Sasquatch featuring presentations by Robert Gimlin, Richard Noll and Owen Caddy.

The public program will be held on Saturday, January 26, 2008 from 10 AM to noon. The presentations will be repeated in a second session from 1 to 3 PM. Admission is FREE, with a suggested $2 donation.

Gimlin was with Roger Patterson when they shot the now-famous Patterson-Gimlin film—24 feet of color film showing a female Bigfoot walking along a sandy creek, filmed forty years ago in Bluff Creek in Northern California. It is now among the most famous evidence of the creature’s existence. Expedition partner and outfitter Gimlin will talk about his experience and the famous encounter on that trail.

Noll, a longtime Bigfoot researcher, will talk about his work and the well-known Skookum cast. The cast was made from a partial body print found near Mt. St. Helens in 2000, believed to have been made by a living Sasquatch. A copy of the cast will be on display during Noll’s presentation.

Caddy will present “Digital Enhancement of the Patterson-Gimlin Film Subject.” He will share the results of the film’s digital enhancement, revealing for the first time many details of the film subject’s face.

All three speakers were featured in a recent Bigfoot episode of Monster Quest on the History Channel.

Bigfoot Field Research Organization will host a tabletop display in the museum gallery. Members of the organization will talk about BFRO and the many Northwest expeditions they have led. Learn about field equipment, research techniques and upcoming expeditions in 2008. Founded in 1995, BFRO is a leader in scientific research exploring Sasquatch.

This program is offered in conjunction with the exhibit Giants in the Mountains: The Search for Sasquatch, on view at the museum through September 2008. The exhibit explores the Sasquatch mystery and focuses on the Pacific Northwest environment which has created a rich setting for the traditional beliefs that have grown up around these beings. Scientific explanations, hoaxes and popular cultural interpretations about Bigfoot are tackled. Tribal artifacts and artwork as well as physical evidence collected in the field by anthropologist Dr. Grover Krantz are on display. Organized by the Washington State Historical Society. Regular museum admission applies.

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The State Capital Museum and Outreach Center is located in the historic Lord Mansion, seven blocks south of the capital campus in Olympia, at 211 21st Avenue SW. The museum is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history and culture of Washington and features two floors of exhibits. The building also houses outreach programs of the Washington State Historical Society, including the Women's History Consortium, Heritage Resource Center, National History Day and Traveling Exhibits Service. For more information, please contact the State Capital Museum and Outreach Center at 360/753-2580 or visit our web site, WashingtonHistory.org.

HOURS: Wednesday – Saturday, 11 AM – 3 PM. ADMISSION: $5 for families; $2 for adults; $1.75 for seniors; $1 for youth 6 – 18 years old; children age 5 and below, and members are always FREE.