NCMC Events From Around the State…April 8, 2013

1). Bellamy Mansion Wednesday, April 10th at 6:30pm - 'Sowing Life and Death': Disease and Absenteeism on the Lower Cape Fear Rice Plantation. Cape Fear Community College History lecturer Kimberly Sherman discusses the development of plantations in our region, yellow fever epidemics, the social structure of plantation life, and the people who lived on them. $5 General Admission; FREE for Bellamy Members, Volunteers & Students. To reserve a seat call 910.251.3700 or email info@bellamymansion.org

2). Museum of the Albemarle will hold Pre-Schooler Time – “Take me out to the Ball Game” on Thursday, April 11th at 10am.  Participants must be between the ages of 3 to 5 years old and must be accompanied by an adult.  Pre-Schoolers wear your baseball cap and join the crowd looking at uniforms and equipment from the past.  Listen to a story about baseball, and then make a baseball craft.  Free Family Program.  For More Information call 252-335-1453.

3). Hands On! the children’s museum in downtown Hendersonville, will present "Digging Dinosaurs!" on Thursday, April 11th. All day long, kids of all ages can put together a T-Rex skeleton, create molds of dinosaur skeletons, enjoy dinosaur coloring pages, and more! The cost to attend is free with $5 admission and free for members. "Digging Dinosaurs" is sponsored by the Fountainead Bookstore.

4). Museum of the Albemarle  will hold History Tales: Make It, Take It - “Batter Up!!” on Friday, April 12th at 3:30pm.  Participants must be elementary age and accompanied by an adult.  Score a home run in Batter Up!  Play the trivia game:  How did baseball begin?  When did uniforms and equipment change?  Who are local players that made it to the “Big Time?”  Free Family Program.  For More Information call 252-335-1453.

5). Greensboro Science Center Friday, April 12th at 9am – Mentos Minute - As a part of the first-ever statewide Experi-Minute event with the NC Science Festival, GSC staff and school children will launch "mentos rockets" in front of the Greensboro Science Center. Visitors are invited to come watch this explosive, fun science experiment. All North Carolinians are encouraged to do something science-related at 9am on this day as part of the Experi-Minute. Event is free.

6). N.C. Maritime Museum at Beaufort Film Festival comes to Beaufort! The Youth Working Group of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and the Town of Beaufort will put on a two day film festival that will be held at the Maritime Museum in Beaufort, April 12th and 13th. There will be an opening reception on Friday, April 12th followed by a day of video presentations. There will also be engaging activities and displays set up by students.  The Youth Working Group examines pertinent issues of ocean conservation and research.  For more information visit the Monitor Marine Sanctuary website at: http//monitor.noaa.gov/.

7). Mount Airy Museum of Regional History Saturday, April 13th, 2pm - 3:30pm - The second History Talks for the 2013 season will feature Author and Historian Tom Perry who will speak about Eng and Chang Bunker, the famous Siamese Twins, their families and the Civil War impact on their lives.  This program will be held on the 3rd floor of the Museum at 2pm.  All History Talks are Free to the Public.

8). Kings Mountain Historical Museum Saturday, April 13th 10am-4pm: KMHM Spring Fling.  The annual daylong event will feature living history demonstrations from the 38th North Carolina Civil War re-enactment group. Other events for the day include a performance by the Log Cabin String Band and a reading of Civil War letters by Joy W. Sparrow from the book Sparrows’ Nest of Letters, edited by Joy W. Sparrow at 10:30am.

9). North Carolina Collection is hosting UNC-Chapel Hill’s first-ever Wikipedia edit-a-thon on April 14th from 1 - 5pm. Participants will meet in Wilson Library and use NCC materials to improve and create articles about African American history in North Carolina. Everyone is welcome to edit, whether you are a Wikipedia expert or novice. Assistants will provide reference help and teach Wikipedia syntax and style. Refreshments will be provided, and tours of Wilson Library will be given during the event. For more information, or to RSVP, visit the event page at bit.ly/uncwikithon or contact edit.a.thon@unc.edu.

10). North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will commemorate the 101st anniversary of the sinking of the maiden voyage of the Titanic on Monday, April 15th at 12 noon for a one-hour “Lunch & Learn” in the Museum’s main auditorium. The public is invited to bring a lunch and listen to a historical account of the Titanic’s final hours, told by historian and actor, Michael Sanders, known for his portrayal of Edward J. Smith, Captain of the Titanic. Admission is free. For those who want to buy lunch for the presentation, the Museum’s Acro Café on the 4th floor, has a variety of wraps and sandwiches for sale.

11). Cape Fear Museum on Thursday, April 18th at 7pm, professional textile conservator, Patricia Ewer, will present a Textile Talk, showcasing the importance of conservation. Learn how conservators preserve delicate artifacts. Explore the processes of conserving items – from vacuuming and wet cleaning to backing and patching and why conservation is key to preserving artifacts for future generations. Textile Talk is $5 for members and $7 for non-members. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 910-798-4362.

12). Gaston County Museum of Art & History Gaston College Annual Art Show – April 20 – June 29 – This year’s Gaston College Visual & Performing Arts Club (GCVPAC) hosts a juried contemporary art show that includes paintings, sculpture, ceramics, photography and graphics.  This will mark the seventh year that the Gaston County Museum and the GCVPAC have collaborated on this show. Their goal is to create exhibitions that feature local artists and students within a larger contemporary context. The dialogue between local and regional artists created by the show is critical to the success of our local arts community. This dialogue plays a key role in positioning Gaston County as an important regional artists’ community.

13). 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, April 21st from 3 to 5pm with a rain date of Sunday, April 28th. In the beautiful colonial style gardens, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and granddaughters will learn the etiquette of taking tea and cakes in colonial times. As they sip on tea or lemonade and eat either 18th-century style or modern cakes, attendees will learn the history of tea and how colonial people took their tea. After tea, the girls can play games like graces, dance the Virginia Reel, make a rag doll, decorate a paper fan, or “tin” punch a Christmas ornament. Admission is by advanced purchase only, and tickets have sold out early for the last two years.  Tickets may be obtained by calling 919-833-3431 payable with MasterCard or Visa. Admission for the public is $30 for adults and $20 for children 12 and under; members of the Joel Lane Historical Society pay $25 for adults and $15 for children 12 and under.  Minimum age is 5 years old. Tickets are not refundable unless event must be cancelled.

14). Preservation Chapel Hill Sunday, April 21st at 2pm - Walk This Way! Women's History of Downtown Chapel Hill.  Anonymous Was a Woman explores the amazing women who lived in our historic Chapel Hill neighborhood from 1800 to the present day. Stops include the residence of novelist Betty Smith, activist and Episcopal Priest, Pauli Murray, and the founders of Preservation Chapel Hill, Ida Friday and Georgia Kyser. Tour departs Horace Williams House, 610 East Rosemary Street. $5 per person

15). Smith-McDowell House Museum Saturday, May 18th - Smith-McDowell House Museum is continuing its Crafty Historian series of children's education programs on Saturday, May 18th from 10:30am to 12:30pm at the museum (283 Victoria Rd). This month's event features the Little House on the Prairie theme with a crafty activity.  Older children may make a braided rug and younger children will make a small doll.  The fee for this event is $3 for anyone making a craft. Reservations are required so that there will be enough supplies for everyone.