NCMC Events From Around the State… March 1, 2010

1). Bellamy Mansion Museum presents African-American History Day on Saturday, March 27, 10-4. Experience the domestic life of the mansion from a 19th century perspective. The Bellamy's household included eleven family members and nine enslaved African-Americans who lived on the site and worked throughout the house. Learn about their lives as well as those of the free blacks and hired slave artisans who built this grand house, the carriage house and the slave quarters.

2). Museum of Anthropology presents Death in Medieval London: The Black Plague of 1349 on Tuesday, March 18, 7:00pm. The 14th-century Black Death was one of the most devastating epidemics in human history. It killed tens of millions of Europeans and caused social, demographic, and economic changes throughout the continent. Dr. Sharon N. DeWitte, a biological anthropologist at the University at Albany, SUNY, will present her research on mortality patterns and reactions to the epidemic in London using a Black Death mass burial ground. Admission is free.

3). Kings Mountain Historical Museum is proud to announce the opening of our new exhibit Early Inhabitants of the Western Piedmont which will run through May 1, 2010. This exhibit will feature private and other Museum collections of early pottery, basketry and weapons from the Native Southeastern Indians and early pioneers that lived in the Western Piedmont many years ago.

4). Battleship NORTH CAROLINA presents Behind the Scenes at the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA: Hidden Battleship on March 13, 2010. Saturday, March 13th, join us for a unique, behind-the-scenes tour of un-restored areas of the Battleship. The four-hour tour consists of small groups with guides. Guests explore the bow, third deck, brig, after gyro, storage rooms, ammunition handling, Engineer’s office, torpedo area, engine room #3, the cold storage compartments, and up inside the fire control tower to the top of the ship. The Azalea Coast Radio Club will be in Radio II to explain their work on the ship’s radio transmitters.

5). Cape Fear Museum presents Pi Day on Tuesday, March 16, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. This daylong extravaganza of high-energy, hands-on, facilitated mathematics activities will excite and motivate learners of all ages. Discover the Meaning of Pi. Sort through the Puzzle Playground. Build towers with Shape Makers. Become an origami master when you Fold It! Appropriate for K-5th grade.

6). Asheville Art Museum The Asheville Art Museum’s ARTmob is pleased to present an Artist Talk with Gabriel Shaffer at Blue Spiral 1 on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. This event is free. Gabriel Shaffer lives and works in Asheville, NC. The son of renowned folk/visionary artist Cher Shaffer, Gabriel was raised surrounded by many folk and outsider artists. In June 2002, at the age of 27, Shaffer had an epiphany while experimenting with painting. He has since focused solely on visual art.

7). Museum of the Albemarle The Museum of the Albemarle will celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday with Seussical Time on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 from 10:00 am until 10:45 am. Pre-schoolers must be between the ages of 3 to 5 years old and must be accompanied by an adult. Participants will celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday by learning a few interesting “Seuss” facts, reading a Dr. Seuss story and participate in a hands-on activity.

8). Museum of the Cape Fear will welcome spring and celebrate women and their contributions to history with a Women’s History Month Garden Party on Saturday, March 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. Ladies and gentlemen of all ages are invited to an afternoon of elegance at the 1897 Poe House, located at the historical complex. Relax in the backyard beautifully decorated for afternoon tea, and hear speakers highlight two Victorian-era topics: roses and etiquette.

9). N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences Devouring people as if they were flies, cult B-movie classic The Giant Gila Monster crawls onto the big stage at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh on Friday, March 5 at 7 p.m. When a podunk Texas town finds itself under attack from a 70-foot-long Gila Monster with a hunger for humans, it looks to quick-thinking “teenage” mechanic and hot-rod gang leader Chase Winstead to save the day.

10). The Bascom Photographic Works by Greg Newington, the first exhibition in the U.S. of works by the award-winning Australian photographer, continues at The Bascom through March 7. The exhibition is in the ground floor of The Bascom's main building Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

11). Turchin Center for Visual Arts presents 7th Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition (AMPC) March 5 - June 5, 2010. Mezzanine Gallery The 7th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition (AMPC) is a program of Appalachian's Outdoor Programs in partnership with the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. The AMPC has grown to become a prominent regional competition attracting the work of amateur and professional photographers from across the country allowing them the opportunity to celebrate the unique people, places, and pursuits that distinguish the Southern Appalachians.