UC Merced wants the public to visit, play at open house

MERCED -- Prospective students and the public are invited Saturday to Bobcat Day, the University of California at Merced's annual open house.

The free event is a chance to check out the campus through tours, professor and student panel discussions, and club booths. Bobcat Day starts at 10 a.m. and the public is invited.

Now at about 1,900 students, UC Merced hopes to enroll 2,500 for fall 2008, the beginning of its fourth year.

The third annual Fairy Shrimp Festival also will take place Saturday at UC Merced. The family-friendly event's theme is "Change Your Habits, Change Your Future" and will showcase how small changes can make big differences. A variety of artists and environmental and informational booths will be featured from noon to 5 p.m.

The band Super Lucky Catz will perform from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. outside UC Merced's dining center on Scholars Lane.

UC Merced is at 5200 North Lake Road in northeast Merced.

For more information on Bobcat Day, visit http://admissionsucmerced.edu. or call toll free 866-270-7301. For more details on the Fairy Shrimp Festival, visit http://studentlife.ucmerced.edu or call 228-2582.