COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - They came to Cooperstown for the reasons they always do - the history and the memories and the love of the game.

But on Saturday, fans poured into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and made a beeline straight for the third floor. They clutched their cameras and leaned in close, breathing in the rarified air surrounding the 2009 World Series trophy.

Yankee Universe, savoring the moment in Cooperstown.

"My wife and I had planned to be here this weekend anyway, but when we found out the trophy was going to be here it just made it extra special," said Brian Povio, a Yankees fan from Rochester, N.Y. "Seeing it brings you back to the World Series all over again."

The 2009 World Series trophy is just part of World Series Weekend at the Hall of Fame Saturday and Sunday. Museum visitors have the chance to re-live the 2009 season and create new memories at the home of baseball, where artifacts of the Yankees' world title will be forever preserved. Many of those artifacts are on display in the Museum's exhibit Autumn Glory, which celebrates each season's playoff and World Series teams.

Programs that will be offered both Saturday and Sunday at the Museum include:

• Special Yankees-related tour through the Museum
• Yankees Trivia in the Bullpen Theater, with games for all ages
• Special Artifacts Spotlight presentations featuring artifacts from Yankees history
• Public display of the 2009 World Champions Trophy in the Museum

Artifacts like this 1932 Yankees World Series ring and Lou Gehrig's cap are on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame as the Museum celebrates World Series Weekend on Saturday and Sunday. (Craig Muder/Baseball Hall of Fame)

A crew from the YES Network was in town to capture the excitement, and Yankee jerseys were the uniform of the day as pinstripes adorned nearly every corner of the Museum - especially at the new Pinstripe Pictures exhibit, which opened on Saturday. Pinstripe Pictures, located on the Museum's third floor, features photographs reproduced from the Associated Press book "New York Yankees 365," a photographic history celebrating more than 100 years of pinstripe baseball in the Big Apple. The exhibit will be on display through the end of 2010.

Even non-Yankees fans couldn't resist the chance to be part of history on Saturday.

"I guess it's pretty cool," said 8-year-old Ben Tafuro - a Mets fan from Cooperstown - about the World Series trophy. "Now I want to go see the Hank Aaron exhibit!"

But for the vast majority of visitors, Saturday brought the chance to once again celebrate the Yankees' 27th World Series title.

"This is great - right where the trophy should be," said Jackie Campbell, a Yankees fan from Troy, N.Y. "And it will be back here next year, too, after the Yankees win it again."

Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum