NATCHEZ &045; With 66 days until college football season in Mississippi, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in Jackson offers an air-conditioned alternative for sports fanatics.

The museum, open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is a museum for the 21st century, Executive Director Michael Rubenstein said.

Much of the museum, opened in July 1996, is geared toward children and the museum sees quite a few school groups, team parties and church and scout groups, Rubenstein said.

&uot;Kids today need something to do,&uot; he said. &uot;They are not content to look at old jerseys under glass hanging on the wall. They are computer kids and we’ve built a museum for them.&uot;

Features include a three-screen theater, a dummy knee where orthoscopic surgeries can be performed and a broadcast booth where visitors can record their voice to famous Mississippi sports plays, among many others.

The museum also includes a full participatory area where visitors can play golf, soccer, football and baseball.

Throughout the museum are touch screens containing over 1,000 stories and interview clips with hall of fame inductees.

Rubenstein said the museum was designed to be self-directed. There are no guides, no tapes and no beginning or end.

Admission is $5 for adults and $3.50 for children over five and seniors. Children age five and under are admitted for free.

As part of July 4 celebrations, the museum will host the Watermelon Classic Saturday starting at 7 a.m. The 5k run/walk is in its 21st year and is sponsored by Baptist Health Systems. Participants can still register by calling the museum at 1-800-280-FAME.

Rubenstein said the museum is located in one of Jackson’s heaviest concentrations of attractions.

Minor league ballpark Smith Wills Stadium is next to the museum and the Agriculture Forestry Museum, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science and a state park are all within a few minutes from the museum.

The museum is at 1152 Lakeland Drive, Jackson, Exit 98B off I-55.