NCMC Events From Around the State… August 6, 2012


The North Carolina Museums Council recently established a Southeastern Museums Conference Annual Meeting Registration grant. One full, paid registration to the November 7-9 Annual Meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia will be awarded. Deadline for applications: August 15. Forms are available on the NCMC web site.

1). North Carolina Maritime Museum at Beaufort Saturday, August 11th at 3 p.m. As part of the ongoing Civil War Lecture series the Museum will host guest speaker Dr. Robert Browning, U.S. Coast Guard Historian, as he lectures about the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Make sure to stop by, and don’t forget there is only one more lecture left in this series!

2). CSS Neuse & Governor Caswell Memorial  They were no shrinking violets, the women who took up arms to join the fray during the Civil War. "They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers of the American Civil War" will be presented on Aug. 11 in this summer's final 2nd Saturdays program for the CSS Neuse/Caswell Memorial. The free program will be led by Lauren Wike and examines women warriors. It is co-hosted by the Lenoir County Visitor's Bureau and will be presented at the county's Visitor Center at 2 p.m.

3). Tryon Palace  presents “2nd Saturdays: The Athens of North Carolina” on Saturday, August 11, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the North Carolina History Center. In the 19th century, New Bern was well-known for its literary and theatrical culture and even described as the Athens of North Carolina. Celebrate the literary history of New Bern and find yourself immersed in the arts of theater and drama at Tryon Palace’s final of three 2nd Saturday programs. The day’s events will include a special reading of Henry IV part II by the Carolinian Shakespeare Festival.

4). Battleship NORTH CAROLINA  presents “The Legacy Series: Blue and Gray NORTH CAROLINAS” on Saturday, August 11, 2012. The Battleship’s new Legacy Series as part of the 2nd Saturday programs continues in the month of August. Carolina Living History Guild members will set up displays that highlight the history of the USS North Carolina and the CSS North Carolina during the American Civil War. Displays will include steam engineering, ironclad ship construction, navigation, small arms of the US and CS navies, and the “arts of the sailor.” Visitors will be able to view reproductions of period small arms and working models of steam engines, as well as many other items.

5). Port Discover  Dr. Tesfaye D. Serbessa, assistant professor of Chemistry at ECSU, will lead program on the basics of chemistry during “Chemistry 101,” at Port Discover’s Second Saturday Science program, on Saturday, August 11 at 11:00 am. Come and find out what is so cool about chemistry while exploring the different properties and chemical reactions that can be created. Second Saturday Science is free.

6). Museum of the Albemarle  The Department of Cultural Resources is again sponsoring the “2nd Saturdays” program in which more than 100 events will be held across the state on the second Saturdays during the summer months. The Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City has chosen “National Night Out and A Day on the River” as their duel themes for August’s event. During the day guides will be in the “Out of the Blue Coast Guard Aviation” exhibit. Children will be able to try on the reproduction Coast Guard uniforms and can rescue a teddy bear in “Jay” the helicopter whose design was inspired by the comic art work of Doug Lane a former Coast Guard officer. Posters and coloring books will be given away during the event.

7). Fort Fisher State Historic Site  Wrapping up its 2012 2nd Saturdays series, Fort Fisher State Historic Site will present the secret side of the Civil War with “Spies, Signals, and Secrets: Civil War Communication and Fort Fisher” on Saturday, August 11, 2012, from 10 am to 4 pm. The event will feature several hands-on activities such as learning the signal flag alphabet and creating and using cipher disks to communicate. A “secret” speaker will discuss the story of Rose O’Neal Greenhow, an unlikely Confederate spy known as “Wild Rose.” Costumed tours of the fort’s remaining earthworks will be given throughout the day. The program is free, although donations are appreciated.
8). Asheville Art Museum The Asheville Art Museum presents a final Art Break on current exhibition “The Essential Idea: Robert Motherwell’s Graphic Works” on Friday, August 10 at 12:00 noon. The Art Break includes a tour and discussion of the exhibition led by Assistant Museum Curator Cole Hendrix. Art Breaks are offered monthly to Museum Members and visitors, and typically include guided tours and presentations by Museum staff, docents, featured artists and other special guests. Art Breaks are free with Membership or regular Museum admission.

9). Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum will showcase authentic North Carolina culture and heritage on Saturday, Aug. 11, in the third installment of the popular summer program “2nd Saturdays.” The Museum presents “Fishing” as the theme for the final 2nd Saturdays event for 2012, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Local artists and crafters will share their work. Lynne Foster of the Albatross Fleet, one of the first sport fishing charter companies on the Outer Banks, presents “Seafood – From the Water to the Table” at 2 p.m.

10). Weatherspoon Art Museum presents “Noon @ the 'Spoon Public Tour” on Tuesday, Aug 14, 12pm. Noon @ the 'Spoon features a 20-minute tour of a new exhibition. Offered every second Tuesday of the month. Free.This month: “Close Relations and A Few Black Sheep: Sculpture from the Permanent Collection”