LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – At the end of a record-breaking year for the county's museums, the Lower Lake Historical School Preservation Committee and the Friends of the Lake County Museum will host their annual meetings later this month.

The Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum and the Historic Courthouse Museum in Lakeport have had record numbers of visitors this fiscal year, according to Curator Tony Pierucci.

At both museums, Pierucci said more students have participated in tours and educational programs than any one year in the history of both institutions.

In total, between July 2015 and June 2016, one in five elementary school students in Lake County have come through these two museums on a tour, Pierucci said.

Pierucci said this remarkable increase in outreach is part of a renewed push by the museums and the nonprofits that support them to reengage with the community like never before.

The Lower Lake Historical School Preservation Committee pays for the school buses to bring students to the Schoolhouse Museum. Over the years they have also worked tirelessly to preserve the California Point of Historical Interest that is the Lower Lake Schoolhouse, Pierucci said.

Come be a part of the fun and attend the committee's general membership meeting on Saturday, June 25, at noon at the Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum, 16435 Main St. Snacks and refreshments will be provided and officers and board members will be voted in.

The Friends of the Lake County Museum pay for the school buses that transport students to the Historic Courthouse Museum for educational programs and tours, Pierucci said.

With the organization's support, Pierucci said the museum has also been able to purchase professional exhibit supplies and furniture, which you can see on display at the Courthouse Museum’s new exhibit “Crime and Punishment in Lake County: 1861-1930.”

The public is invited to join the Friends at the Historic Courthouse Museum, 255 N. Main St., for the group's annual meeting on Thursday, July 14, at 5:30 p.m. Food and refreshments will be served as the annual report is presented and officers and board members elected.

Both general meetings are a great opportunity to learn more about these two nonprofits and what the museums have planned for the next fiscal year.

You don’t have to be a member to come to the meetings – interested guests are more than welcome.

Visit the museums online at http://museums.lakecountyca.gov/ or https://www.facebook.com/MuseumsOfLakeCountyCa/?fref=ts .