NCMC Events From Around the State… January 6, 2014

1). Hands On!, the children’s museum in downtown Hendersonville, invites you to visit them Tuesday, January 7th – Friday, January 10th to celebrate World Braille Days @ Handay On!  World Braille Day is celebrated each year on Jan. 4th. Learn to write your name in Braille, experience Braille books and see how 6 dots changed the world – all day on each of the days. Play Braille Twister Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. and Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.. All ages. Sponsored by Drs. Alison & Richard Reid, Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics. Free with $5 admission/free for members.

2). The Museum of the Albemarle invites you to join them for a new lecture series, “Back to the Past”, every first Tuesday of the month at 10 a.m. The Museum begins the new lecture series on Tuesday, January 7th at 10:00 a.m. with “Looking Back Farm in Perquimans County”.  A member of the Haines family will answer your questions about organic farming.  The Haines have been farming organically since 1987.   The family manages 350 acres in Perquimans County.  In 2011, with support from a grant, the Haines family created a mobile organic feed mill that supplies local livestock farms with bagged organic corn and wheat feed. It is the first source of organic feed in his region. Through this community endeavor, they are demonstrating the viability of organic agriculture.

3). Tryon Palace invites you to the newest traveling exhibit in the Duffy Gallery that features the artifacts for Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge. This rare exhibit gives you a chance to see actual treasures, including weapons, nautical tools, and personal artifacts recovered from the shipwreck (found near Beaufort in 1996). The exhibit will be on display at Tryon Palace until February 15th.  Special programming will be held in conjunction with its visit; including “Pancakes and Pirates” on Saturday, January 11th from 8:00 -11:00 a.m. "Pancakes and Pirates" invites children ages 10 and under to join the infamous pirate, Blackbeard, for his favorite meal ... pancakes! While devouring breakfast, they'll enjoy sea chanteys, chatting with pirates and building their very own treasure chest!  Seating is limited for this event and preregistration is required by noon on Friday, Jan. 10. Children ages 10 and under will eat for free, thanks to a generous donation from Bob and Carol Mattocks. Tickets for adults wishing to join them will be $10 each. The fun continues that same day from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. with "Pirates in the Palace." Visitors of all ages will enjoy a day filled with crafts and lessons from pirates, all in an effort to teach the skills needed to join Blackbeard and become one of his buccaneers! A treasure map will lead you all over the Palace grounds, and if you be a true sea rover you'll find Blackbeard's booty!

4). The Asheville Art Museum invites you to visit them for FREE on Wednesday, January 8th  from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. as a New Year’s gift to the community. For the remainder of 2014, the Museum will continue to offer this free admission afternoon on the first Wednesday of each month from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Visitors can enjoy several exhibitions currently on view at the Museum, including Cityscapes by Ben Aronson; Lasting Gifts; Rebels with a Cause; Selections from the Permanent Collection: 140 Years of American Art; Josef Albers: Experiments in Color; Esteban Vicente: The Art of Interruption - Painting, Drawing, Collage; Cycle: Hoss Haley; and Robert and Ingrid Wiegand: An Electronic Medium.

5). North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort invites you to “Brown Bag Gam:  U.S. Lifesaving Service in North Carolina” on Thursday, January 9th, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Pack a lunch for the Brown Bag Gam during your lunch hour and join Associate Museum Curator Benjamin Wunderly for an informal discussion on the history of the United States Lifesaving Service in North Carolina. The small crews of this service, the predecessor to the United States Coast Guard, rescued hundreds of sailors in a time when most people traveled by water.  Gam is defined as a friendly conversation between whalers or to visit with another ship while at sea.  Free Admission. Reservations preferred.  252.728.7317.

6). High Point Museum invites you to Bread & Butter Making in the Historical Park on Saturday, January 11th,  10:00  a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Come see our costumed interpreters bake bread and make butter in the Hoggatt House. All ages welcome. FREE. Drop-in.

7). The New Winston Museum presents “History Lessons at Camp London” on Tuesday, January 14th at 5:30 p.m.  In partnership with the Colonel Joseph Winston Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), we present Stokes County educator Eric Marshall. Mr. Marshall has been featured on the CBS Evening News and in Our State Magazine for his passionate and innovative approaches to educating his fifth grade students about the Civil War.  The Colonel Joseph Winston Chapter of the NSDAR will present Mr. Marshall with a certificate recognizing him as the chapter’s selection as an Outstanding Teacher of American History; Marshall has also just been confirmed as the statewide NCSDAR winner of the Outstanding Teacher of American History award and will be nominated for the national award, to be announced in June 2014. New Winston Museum has invited Mr. Marshall to share his experiences and approaches to providing a meaningful history education. 

8). Joel Lane Museum House presents a lecture on "Elizabeth Keckly: Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House" by Rebecca Ryan on Thursday, January 16th at 7:00 p.m. at the Visitors Center of the Joel Lane Museum House. 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. Please call 919-833-3431 with your MasterCard or Visa, or mail a check to P O Box 10884, Raleigh NC 27605, or go to the Eventbrite website. Be sure to include the names of all in your party; nametags will serve as tickets. Tickets are non-refundable unless we must cancel the event.

9). Discovery Place will bring the interaction of history, science, creativity and innovation into sharp focus for visitors with a thrilling, multi-sensory experience, 101 Inventions That Changed The World, coming February 2, 2014. Advance tickets are now on sale.  The exhibition will be appearing in the U.S. for the first time since its international debut in Salt Lake City earlier this year.  With more than 6,000 different video files, 40 projectors and floor-to-ceiling walls that display crystal clear images, the experience delivers a multi-sensory presentation to take audiences on a spectacular journey of inventions – from stone tools to the birth of the Internet. Advance tickets are now on sale now. 101 Inventions That Changed the World will be on exhibition until April 21, 2014. 

10). Cape Fear Museum announces that the “Big Read Greater Wilmington” continues its Big Read celebration of The Things They Carried with a keynote presentation and book signing by the book’s author and Vietnam veteran Tim O’Brien, on Wednesday, January 15th  at 7:00 p.m. at Kenan Auditorium on the campus of UNC Wilmington.  The Things They Carried is semi-autobiographical account of a young platoon on a battlefield without a front, dodging sniper fire and their own misgivings. O’Brien will discuss The Things They Carried and about the process of transforming actual experiences and events into fiction. He will read excerpts from the book and share personal anecdotes.  Tickets to O’Brien’s keynote presentation are free (limit four per person) and can be obtained at the Kenan Auditorium Box Office. More information: www.uncw.edu/arts/boxoffice.html.