ncmuseums

An occasional list of exhibits, programs, and events at North Carolina museums. Sponsored by the North Carolina Museums Council.

Monday, September 27, 2010

NCMC Events From Around the State… September 27, 2010

1). N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences Ever wonder why dogs sniff each other’s rear ends, why cows need four stomachs to digest their food or why cats spit up hair balls? Here’s your chance to find out! Animal Grossology, a new special exhibit at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh, takes a unique and scientific look at nature’s slime-making, vomit-munching and dookie-loving creatures. The exhibit opens October 2, 2010, and runs through April 24, 2011.

2). Rocky Mount Arts Center The Rocky Mount Arts center announces the opening of six new exhibits with a community reception on Sunday, October 3, 2010 from 2:00pm-4:00pm. The exhibits include: Jan-Ru Wan’s “Materialize Memories”, Sharron Parker’s “Handmade Felt”, Cathy Lees’ “Stories of Home”, the Arts Center’s annual national juried sculpture competition “Salmagundi XIV”, sets and costumes from the Theater at the Imperial Centre “Out of the Closet, Onto the Stage”, and selections from the Arts Center Permanent Collection curated by Hanna Crowl “Affiliation”. The October 3rd reception is free and all visitors are welcome!

3). Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens presents Fall Family Day: Life in a New Colony on Saturday, October 2, 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., included in Governors Pass ticket. Come learn what it was like to move to a new land and try to build a life there. Families of all ages can enjoy tours of the Palace and our historic homes as well as interactive crafts, activities and demonstrations. Bring your picnic lunch and spend time immersed in the past. Activities are designed for school-age children; some activities have a minimum age requirement. No advance registration needed.

4). Weatherspoon Art Museum presents Hans Hoffman: Circa 1950, running through October 17, 2010. “Hans Hofmann: Circa 1950” includes an extraordinary body of work created by the artist for the architect Josep Sert’s 1950 city plan for Chimbote, Peru, and two dozen other important works from that year. His nine large-scale Chimbote painting studies form a concise and inspired example of the depth of Hofmann’s strengths as an abstract painter and modernist visionary.

5). Asheville Art Museum
The Asheville Art Museum is proud to announce the dynamic exhibition The Director’s Cut: 1995 – 2010 with an opening reception on Friday, October 15, 2010 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The opening reception is free to the public. This exhibition is in the Museum’s Holden Community Gallery from Friday, October 15, 2010 through Sunday, March 13, 2011.

6). Greensboro Children’s Museum Give science a whirl at The Greensboro Children’s Museum’s new traveling exhibit, SPIN, which opened on Sunday, September 19, 2010. “SPIN” is an exciting exhibit that explores the fun – and science – of objects that rotate. Using interactive exhibits and real-life examples, visitors can explore how objects spin, why things spin at different speeds and how we use spinning objects in our daily lives.

7). Bellamy Mansion Museum presents 2nd Annual Family Fun Day on October 2, 2010 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Grab your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and head to the Bellamy Mansion Museum in downtown Wilmington for a fun-filled event for the entire family. Participate in activities for the young and the young at heart by attending this day planned with family fun in mind. You'll learn how children and adults spent their time in days gone by - with games (chess, table top nine-pins and checkers), sachet making and other interactive activities.

8). N.C. Department of Cultural Resources Three hundred years on the ocean floor can be pretty rough on a body. The Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources will dedicate its fall dive to treating some large bodies of iron in the Atlantic Ocean. Researchers, from Sept. 22-Oct. 29, will be on wreck site of the likely “Queen Anne’s Revenge” (QAR), Blackbeard’s flagship, which sank in 1718 near Beaufort.

9). The Bascom American Craft Today opens in the main gallery at The Bascom on October 2 and runs through December 18. This national competition features original works in all craft media: ceramics, metal, wood, glass, fiber, book arts, etc. The exhibition is sponsored by Frances Bunzl and Family and Julia and Bill Grumbles.

10). Reynolda House Museum of American Art Reynolda House Museum of American Art has invited three noted art scholars to discuss aspects of the art and artists represented in the exhibition, Virtue, Vice, Wisdom & Folly: The Moralizing Tradition in American Art. The Distinguished Speaker Series will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 5:30 p.m. with a talk by Chief Curator of the Hunter Museum of American Art Ellen Simak in a presentation titled, “Lilly Martin Spencer: Women’s Work.”

Monday, September 20, 2010

NCMC Events From Around the State… September 20, 2010

1). Joel Lane Museum House The Joel Lane Museum House is proud to announce a lecture on North Carolina's Role in the American Revolution by James T. Cheatham on Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 7 pm in the Visitors Center at 160 South Saint Mary’s Street, Raleigh, NC 27603. Admission will be $15 for the general public and $10 for members of the Joel Lane Historical Society. Refreshments will be served. Seating is limited, and advanced payment is required.

2). Museum of Anthropology presents LECTURE: The Day of the Dead: The Creation and Transformation of a Mexican National Symbol on Thursday, Sept. 30, 7:00pm. In conjunction with MOA’s annual Days of the Dead exhibit, Dr. Stanley Brandes, Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, will discuss how tourism has helped shape the Day of the Dead tradition in Mexico. Admission is free. This event is cosponsored by the following departments of WFU: Office of Multicultural Affairs, Anthropology, Latin American and Latino Studies, Religion, and Romance Languages.

3). Asheville Art Museum The Asheville Art Museum is pleased to announce SunTrust Sunday Family Art pARTy: The Art of Math + Music on Sunday, October 2, 2010 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Programming and Museum admission is free thanks to SunTrust Bank. SunTrust Bank sponsors a Sunday afternoon of free Museum admission with hands-on art activities for kids of all ages. The afternoon features a flute-making demonstration by Chris Abell followed by a Kate Steinbeck flute concert. Be sure to take a stroll through and the Museum’s galleries and check out all four current exhibitions.

4). N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences is proud to spearhead a national initiative known as Take A Child Outside Week. This program was inspired by Richard Louv’s book “Last Child in the Woods,” which identifies the health and educational benefits of outdoor experiences for children and addresses some of the problems of what he terms “nature deficit disorder,” such as increased stress and feelings of being disconnected from the world. The Museum’s experience with, and commitment to, getting children outdoors led to the development of Take A Child Outside Week, held annually from September 24 to 30.

5). Cameron Art Museum presents Music and More: Clyde Edgerton, Philip Gerard and Dargan Frierson on Thurs. Sept. 23, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm. Program admission: CAM Members: $5.00, Non-members: $10.00. Join us for a night of music and literature with noted authors and UNCW creative writing professors Clyde Edgerton (aka Dusty) and Philip Gerard (Ace). The duo will be accompanied by mathematics and statistics professor Dargan Frierson for an evening of original and folk tunes and readings.

6). Port Discover Port Discover invites kids and their adults to Afterschool Science—a new interactive science program featuring a different and timely topic each month. Afterschool Science runs from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm and drop-in visitors are encouraged. This free afterschool science program is made possible thanks to support from the City of Elizabeth City. Afterschool Science will launch on September 23 with “Plankton Watch”.

7). Transylvania Heritage Museum Decoration Day in the Mountains, an exhibit on loan from the Mountain Heritage Center in Cullowhee, NC, will open at the Transylvania Heritage Museum on Saturday, September 11 at 10 am and run through November 27, 2010. This exhibit is based on the work of Alan and Karen Singer Jabbour. Much of the material is taken from their book “Decoration Day in the Mountains: The Tradition of Cemetery Decoration in Western North Carolina and the Upland South”, published in 2010 by the UNC Press.

8). Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens presents Garden Lecture with speaker Bobby Ward Chlorophyll in his Veins: the Biography of J.C. Raulston on Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Author Bobby Ward will speak on J. C. Raulston, who was the most important and influential figure in American horticulture in the latter part of the twentieth century. His passion for promoting new plants for landscapes was unmatched. A book signing will follow this lecture.

9). Historic Bethania In just a few short days the Black Walnut Festival will be under way in the Town of Bethania. The festival features crafters & artisans who show and sell their creations in one of the state’s most picturesque settings. The event will be held in Bethania on September 25th. The Festival opens at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday with closing time set at 4:00 p.m. Join us for a day of food, live music and family fun in the historic Town of Bethania, North Carolina.

10). Catawba County Historical Association The Catawba County Historical Association is hosting its 26th Annual Storytelling Harvest Folk Festival on Saturday, September 25 from 10 until 5 pm, and Sunday, September 26 from 1 until 5 pm. The Festival is held on the grounds of Historic Murray's Mill Tickets are $5 per person and include a tour of the mill. The Murray’s Mill Harvest Folk Festival celebrates Catawba County’s agricultural heritage with an array of exhibits, craftsmen, and activities, including petting zoos, antique cars, tractors, and farm machinery, and traditional food preparations such as molasses making.

Monday, September 13, 2010

NCMC Events From Around the State… September 13, 2010

1). Joel Lane Museum House The Joel Lane Museum House, “The Birthplace of North Carolina’s Capital City,” will present Lizzie Lane’s Colonial Tea on Sunday, September 19, 2010 from 3 to 5 pm with a rain date of Sunday, September 26. Elizabeth was Colonel Joel Lane’s seventh child. He was a founding father of Raleigh and an officer in the Militia during the American Revolutionary War. As they sip on tea or lemonade and eat either cakes, guests will learn the history of tea and how colonial people took their tea.

2). Museum of Anthropology presents EXHIBIT: Días de los Muertos (Days of the Dead), Sept. 14 – Dec. 17, Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00am – 4:30pm. MOA’s annual exhibit will feature a traditional Mexican ofrenda: a home altar with sugar skulls, colorful tissue paper cutouts, food and beverage offerings, marigolds, and photos of deceased relatives to honor the dead. The exhibit includes a section focusing on traditional Mexican crafts associated with the celebration. A children’s ofrenda and a photo essay illustrating different aspects of the celebration will also be on display. This exhibit features text in English and Spanish. Admission is free.

3). Museum of the Albemarle The 223rd anniversary of the U.S. Constitution will be commemorated Sunday, September 19, at 3:00 p.m. in the Gaither Auditorium of the Museum of the Albemarle. This event is part of We the People Constitution Week celebration sponsored by the Betsy Dowdy Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

4). Reynolda House Museum of American Art This fall, Reynolda House Museum of American Art will exhibit a series of prints based on Thomas Cole’s cycle of four paintings titled The Voyage of Life. This small, focused exhibition will be on view in the Northeast Bedroom Gallery from Sept. 11 through Dec. 31, 2010. This series of prints will be on view as Reynolda House launches its major exhibition, “Virtue, Vice, Wisdom & Folly: The Moralizing Tradition in American Art” in the main gallery of the Babcock Wing.

5). Battleship NORTH CAROLINA As part of the 100th Anniversary of Boy Scouts of America we want you to come and enjoy Battleship Alive, on Saturday, September 25, 2010, at the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA where ship volunteers stationed throughout the ship engage visitors in specific subjects and areas including: gunnery, radar, sickbay, galley, engineering, and daily shipboard life.

6). Ava Gardner Museum Each year the Ava Gardner Museum celebrates Ava's life and career by hosting the Ava Gardner Festival. This annual event includes heritage tours, screenings of classic Ava Gardner films, and special exhibits. This year’s festival will kickoff during the Ava Gardner Festival Gala on Friday evening, October 8th and will continue Saturday, October 9th from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. The 2010 Ava Gardner Festival marks the 10th anniversary of the Ava Gardner Museum.

7). N.C. State Capitol For North Carolina, the Civil War officially began in the State Capitol. On May 20, 1861, delegates from across the state adopted the Ordinance of Secession in the House of Commons, officially withdrawing the state from the Union. A new exhibit, Crisis at the Capitol: North Carolina on the Eve of War, explores what the State Capitol was like on the eve of the conflict and introduces visitors to many of the individuals working and living here in a time before secession and before the war. The exhibit opens Sept. 17 and will remain on display through May 13, 2011.

8). Port Discover (http://www.portdiscover.org/) Preschoolers are invited to a Fossil Frenzy at Port Discover’s Toddler Time, Thursday, September 16 at 10:00 am. Young scientists will learn all about fossils…from dinosaurs to shark teeth. The young explorers will discover how fossils are made and what clues they leave for us. Each child will make their own fossil print.

9). N.C. Museum of History
presents Discover the Real George Washington: New Views From Mount Vernon from Sept. 10, 2010-Jan. 21, 2011. This traveling exhibition from Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens offers a new and refreshing perspective on our nation’s first president, his achievements, and his family and times. Nearly 100 original objects associated with Washington — including the only surviving complete set of his famous dentures — are featured. The N.C. Museum of History is the only venue in the Southeast on the exhibition’s national tour.

10). Kings Mountain Historical Museum The Kings Mountain Historical Museum is proud to announce the opening of the annual Honor Our Veterans Exhibit on September 9 – November 13, 2010. This year we are featuring World War II with uniforms, weapons, equipment, photos and memorabilia. The exhibit also includes other US Military campaigns and World War I.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

NCMC Events From Around the State… September 7, 2010

1). Cape Fear Museum presents North Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, September 14, 7 p.m. Hurricane historian and author Jay Barnes will share stories and photographs chronicling our region’s hurricane history. Barnes will discuss memorable storms like Hazel, Fran and others that battered the Carolina coast over the years. Barnes is the author of several books on the topic, including “North Carolina's Hurricane History” and “Hurricane Hazel in the Carolinas”.


2). Guilford College Art Gallery Guilford College Art Gallery in Greensboro presents Again and Never Again: Can We Coexist with Ourselves? an installation by environmental artist Bryant Holsenbeck. Created with community participation, the monumental installation is made entirely from recycled materials and is part of "Green and Beyond," the college-wide theme year on sustainability. The Gallery hours are weekdays 9-5 and Sundays, 2-5 and is free. The public is cordially invited to attend.

3). Port Discover Young rock hounds are invited to Rock On! and learn all about geology at Port Discover’s Second Saturday Science, September 11 at 11:00 am. Dr. Thomas Rossbach, professor of geology at Elizabeth City State University, will provide an expert overview of rocks, fossils and minerals. Children are encouraged to bring in samples for Dr. Rossbach to identify.

4). Robeson Planetarium and Science Center
A fun hands-on set of activities to celebrate the NC Science festival will be held at the Robeson Planetarium and Science Center September 8, 2010 at 11 am and 1 pm. The program is entitled Are You Smarter Than a 3rd Grader? We will select various concepts and ideas emphasized in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for 3rd Grade in Science. You will leave with a great appreciation of what 3rd graders learn, and easy ways to learn it.

5). Asheville Art Museum On Friday, September 10, 2010 from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., join Museum Registrar and Preparator, Dean Butckovitz for an Art Break featuring a behind-the-scenes look at how to set up an exhibition. Art Breaks are free with Museum Membership or admission. There is so much that goes on before the public views an exhibition. Now is your opportunity to get the behind-the-scenes sneak peek—so don’t miss it!

6). N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences
Yes. Shrimp and crawfish are bugs too and aquatic bugs swim front and center as the 2010 “theme bug” for BugFest — the biggest one-day bug-centric event of its kind in the country at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. On Saturday, September 11 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., all four floors of the Museum, as well as Bicentennial Plaza, Jones St. and Edenton St. will be transformed into a buggy wonderland where visitors can turn fear into fascination and it’s all free!

7). Tryon Palace
presents African American Lecture Series - Movers & Shakers in the African American Community – Past and Present with guest speaker Dr. David Dennard, Assoc. Professor of History, East Carolina University on Thursday, September 9, 7:00 p.m. in the Visitor Center Auditorium. Free Admission. This panel discussion will be about dedication, commitment, potential image as a role model.

8). Mount Airy Museum of Regional History
presents Toast and Jam at the Mt. Airy Museum of Regional History on Saturday, September 11th from 5 - 7pm. Free to the public. Good Wine, Good Music, and a Taste of Mount Airy, all set in the Museum’s picturesque courtyard. Old North State Winery will be featured with music by jazz singer Diana Tuffin accompanied by guitarist Dan Edwards. Food will be provided by Trio. In case of inclement weather, this event will be held in the Museum Annex at 144 W. Oak Street, Mount Airy.

9). Orange County Historical Museum
Take a step back in time and come enjoy Colonial Kids on Saturday, September 11. Come to the Museum and the Burwell School Historic Site to have fun demonstrations throughout the day, from 11-4. Stop by the Museum between 1-3pm for a lesson in Colonial medicine. This event is free and open to the public.

10). The Bascom
The exhibition Fire and Heat by Three opens at the Bascom on Saturday, September 11. Gunpowder, furnaces and kilns are used by the three featured artists: glass artist Alex Bernstein, mixed media artist Mira Lehr and ceramist Tom Turner. Experience traditional and innovative uses of materials and processes employed in the making of these contemporary works of art.

11). Blandwood Mansion
Blandwood in Greensboro, NC, will be hosting the fundraiser, Music at the Mansion on September 12, 19, & 26, 2:00-6:00pm. Adults, $7; Children, 12 and under are free. Scheduled bands: Sunday, Sept 12: Opening: House of Dues, Headliner: Melva Houston; Sunday, Sept 19: Opening: Bump & Logie, Headliner: Alison King Band; Sunday, Sept 26: Opening: Laurelyn Dossett, Headliner: Amelia's Mechanics.