ncmuseums

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

Monday, July 28, 2014

NCMC Events From Around the State… July 28, 2014



1). CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center (www.nchistoricsites.org/neuse/neuse.htm) will present "Civil War Surgery & Medicine" examining medicine and surgery at home and on the battlefield during the Civil War. The origins of modern triage practices can be traced back to the difficult choices made on the battlefield. Gary Riggs will display medicine and surgical equipment used and discuss the types of procedures they were used to perform. The program commemorates the sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary, of the Civil War and will be held Aug. 9, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is also the final offering of the three month long popular program “2nd Saturdays.” The ladies of the Tar Heel Civilians will portray and discuss the role of women such as nurses, rolling bandages and gathering supplies to make and send hospital boxes. In addition to battle wounds, many soldiers died because of infection or illness due to lack of modern medical technology.

2). The Museum of the Albemarle (www.museumofthealbemarle.com) is preparing its 2015 schedule of speakers for two monthly programs and is seeking presenters.    “Back to the Past with at 21st Century Twist” is held every first Tuesday at 10:00 a.m.  and may include a demonstration.   “History for Lunch” is held every first Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. and ends at approximately 1 p.m.   If you are interested in presenting a session during one of these programs, please contact the education department at the museum.    Please include your name, a brief biography, and contact information.  Also include the title and brief description of your presentation. All contacts will be considered and notified by October 15, 2014.   For more information concerning the event call 252-335-1453.

3). N.C. African American Heritage Commission
(http://www.ncarts.org/ExperiencetheArts/AfricanAmericanMusicTrails/NorthCarolinaAfricanAmericanHeritageCommissio.aspx) is sponsoring a workshop this summer on the history, culture, and legacy of Freedom Roads and Freedom Seekers in North Carolina. The workshop is on Monday, August 4th at Historic Halifax State Historic Site and is geared to museum professionals, teachers, and students (education, museum studies, public history, etc.).  The workshop is $30, and includes breakfast, lunch, and all materials. To register, visit:

4). Museum of the Albemarle (www.museumofthealbemarle.com) invites you to “2nd Saturdays:  Summer Fun Day!” on Saturday, August 9th from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Wear your sunglasses and welcome summer with your beach blanket and a picnic on the Green. Join The Junior Docents at the Museum of the Albemarle beginning at 10 a.m. for a beach party where amateur DJs will play beach music while you try your steps on the dance floor.  The limbo stick will test your flexibility! You might also make a toy sailboat and take part in other beach crafts.

5). North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort (www.ncmaritimemuseums.com) invites you to “Shackleford Banks: Horses, Hiking and History” on August 6th, 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.  Come find out what makes Shackleford Banks such a unique barrier island, from the early settlers and whaling villages to tales of Blackbeard the pirate and wild horses that roam the sandy beaches. Associate Curator Benjamin Wunderly will guide participants on a hike in this designated wilderness area managed by the National Park Service as part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore. Not suitable for children under 6. Fee: $30. Advance registration required. 252.728.7317. North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, 315 Front Street, Beaufort 28516.

6). Greensboro Historical Museum (www.greensborohistory.org) invites you to “A Teaworthy Toast to Dolley Madison” on Sunday, August 24th.  Enjoy the delights of high tea at the O. Henry Hotel in a style that First Lady Dolley Madison would have appreciated. For we are remembering her bravery 200 years ago, during August 23-24, 1815, when Dolley was in the White House as the British approached the capital city. She set the table for a fine dinner, anxiously awaiting good news from President Madison and his troops. That was not to be. You know part of the rest, as we toast Dolley’s bravery, you’ll find out more about that drama-filled day so long ago. Event to be held at the O. Henry Hotel, 624 Green Valley Rd. Tickets $30, inclusive, available by mailing checks to the Historical Museum at 130 Summit Ave., Greensboro, 27401. Table sponsorships, with 6 seats, available for $200, by contacting Director Carol Hart at 373-2306. Reservation deadline is Friday, August 8. For more information, contact the Historical Museum at 373-2043.

7). Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex (www.ncdcr.gov/ncmcf/Home.aspx)  announces that on July 31st at 7:00 p.m., Jim Greathouse, senior museum specialist for the City of Fayetteville, and co-chair of the NC Military Historical Society, Fayetteville Chapter, will present a slide show on The Building of the Fayetteville Arsenal, at the Museum of the Cape Fear.  This presentation is being co-sponsored by the Museum of the Cape Fear and the Fayetteville Chapter of the NC Military Historical Society, which meets at the museum every other month. The presentation is open to the public, and anyone interested in learning more about the NC Military Historical Society is welcome to remain after the presentation to learn more about joining the organization.  For more information, call 910-486-1330.

8). Hands On! (www.handsonwnc.org), the children’s museum located in downtown Hendersonville, invites you to Nano Science ~ the Invisible Science! Ages 8-11. Mon. 8/4 10:30–2:30. We are usually closed on Mondays, but for this class the museum is open just for you!  Explore Nano Science – the science of the very, very small (so small you can’t see it) with hands-on experiments & games. $34 nm/$26 m. Sponsored by NISE NETWORK & National Science Foundation. Pre-registration required; walk-ins accepted as space allows. Call 697-8333 to register.

9). The Asheville Art Museum (www.ashevilleart.org) is pleased to present a unique and exciting exhibition, Sol LeWitt: Creating Place, Wall Drawing #618. The first day to view this exhibition will be Saturday, August 9 from 10:00 a.m. ­­­– 5:00 p.m. For more information about this exhibit, visit the website at www.ashevilleart.org or call the Museum at 828.253.3227. 

10). The N.C. Museum of History (http://ncmuseumofhistory.org/) in Raleigh will present the program Sam Ervin and Watergate: 40 Years Later on Saturday, Aug. 9th, the 40th anniversary of President Richard M. Nixon’s resignation. Hear about Sen. Ervin’s time as chair of the Senate Watergate Committee from those who remember this distinguished North Carolinian the best. A panel discussion at 2 p.m. will be followed by a Q&A session. Admission is free. Be sure to see the exhibit Watergate: Political Scandal & the Presidency before it closes! Open through Aug. 10, the exhibit tells the story of the Watergate scandal in a very straightforward, engaging way. Artifacts, photographs, video clips and a 1970s living room setting intrigue both younger visitors and those who recall this transformative time in our nation’s history. Watergate also highlights many Tar Heels who played important roles in investigating the scandal.  For information about the N.C. Museum of History, a Smithsonian-affiliated museum, call 919-807-7900 or access www.ncmuseumofhistory.org or follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ or YouTube.  

Monday, July 14, 2014

NCMC Events From Around the State… July 14, 2014



1). The Museum of the Albemarle is preparing its 2015 schedule of speakers for two monthly programs and is seeking presenters.    “Back to the Past with at 21st Century Twist” is held every first Tuesday at 10:00 a.m.  and may include a demonstration.   “History for Lunch” is held every first Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. and ends at approximately 1 p.m.   If you are interested in presenting a session during one of these programs, please contact the education department at the museum.    Please include your name, a brief biography, and contact information.  Also include the title and brief description of your presentation. All contacts will be considered and notified by October 15, 2014.   For more information concerning the event call 252-335-1453.

2). N.C. African American Heritage Commission is sponsoring a workshop this summer on the history, culture, and legacy of Freedom Roads and Freedom Seekers in North Carolina. The workshop is on Monday, August 4th at Historic Halifax State Historic Site and is geared to museum professionals, teachers, and students (education, museum studies, public history, etc.).  The workshop is $30, and includes breakfast, lunch, and all materials. To register, visit: 

3). Western Office, NC Department of Cultural Resources announces that forty images and selected artifacts on loan from the N.C. Museum of History appear in the traveling exhibit “The Photography of Lewis Hine: Exposing Child Labor in North Carolina, 1908-1918” on display at the Western Office from June 23 to October 3, 2014.  In addition to regular hours of Monday – Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the Western Office will offer several programs related to the exhibit. Hine captured the harsh realities of their mill village lives in Cabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln, Rowan and other North Carolina counties. His photographs range from girls running warping machines in Gastonia to boys covered in lint after long hours as doffers and sweepers in a Hickory mill.  The exhibit and special programs are free.  For additional information please call (828) 296-7230. The Western Office is located at 176 Riceville Rd., Asheville, N.C.

4). Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum invites you to “Salty Dawgs: Creating Maritime Exhibits”.  Mike Carraway, longtime North Carolina Maritime Museum exhibits curator, creates a wide variety of two- and three-dimensional exhibits for three maritime museums in the state system including the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. Carraway discusses the process and shares a personal behind-the-scenes look into his creative and complex job.  Free admission. Email: maryellen.riddle@ncdcr.gov.  252-986-2995, Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, 59200 Museum Drive, Hatteras, NC 27943. 

5). Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art announces work by internationally recognized artist Neil Goldberg is coming soon to SECCA. Neil Goldberg: Anthology opens Friday, July 18, with an evening reception from 6 - 8 p.m. Anthology gathers together Goldberg’s conceptual artworks that contemplate the fleeting and overlooked aspects of ordinary daily experience, finding fascination, humor and poignancy in them. As part of SECCA’s solo series, Anthology explores three dimensions of Goldberg’s ethos of inviting life into art: autobiographical works which engage his parents and later memorialize the loss of his father; works that incorporate strangers and public life through observation or participation; studio works that invite other artists and intellects to critique and perform for Goldberg. Anthology includes video, photography and objects from over the last 20 years and debuts Ten-and-a-half-years-of-To-Dos, a five-channel audiovisual installation. Neil Goldberg: Anthology runs through Sunday, October 5 and is free and open to the public.

6). Bellamy Mansion Museum invites you to Jazz at the Mansion with Darryl Donnell Murrill, on July 17th, 6:30pm - 7:30pm.  Join the Cape Fear Jazz Society and the Bellamy Mansion Museum in welcoming Darryl Donnell Murrill to the Mansion. Come out and listen to the sax and all of your favorite jazz tunes. Wine and beer available for sale. Tickets are $10 for members and $12 for general admission. Bring a picnic, a lawn chair, and the kids!  To find out more about Darryl Donnell Murrill, visit http://lovegodandsax.com/sax/.

7). The State Archives (www.archives.ncdcr.gov) announces that the “Protecting Family Photos and Records” webinar is now available.  The State Archives' YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/ncarchives offers a series of online tutorials that provide information on the care and preservation of family treasures. "The Care and Handling of Family Papers" tutorials were developed in conjunction with the State Historical Records Advisory Board, funded by a grant from the National Historical Records and Publications Commission.  For information, please call (919) 807-7326. The State Archives is part of the Office of Archives and History within the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

8). North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort  invites you to the 8th Annual Crab Cake Cook-off on Friday, July 18, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.  Taste delicious crab cakes made by four volunteer guest chefs and vote on your favorite at this Museum fundraiser that takes place at the Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center.  In addition, the event has a slaw taste-off.  Participants will vote on slaw prepared by four cooks and vote for their favorite.  Space is limited. Members only, all are welcome to join the Friends of the North Carolina Maritime Museum.  Membership starts at just $35.  Proceeds from this event help support the operations of the Friends of the North Carolina Maritime Museum and the North Carolina Maritime Museum.  Tickets $25 for Friends of the Museum Members.  Available at the Museum Store or online at www.maritimefriends.org.  252.728.7317. North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, 315 Front Street, Beaufort 28516. 

9). Hands On!, a Child’s Gallery, announces science exploration all week at Hands On!  Tues. 7/22 10:30-12:30 - Construction Junction. Ages 6-9. Use blocks to create monsters, aliens, giant bugs, a castle, a whole town and more! Block play develops skills in math ~ learn while you play! Wed. 7/23 10:30-12:30. Lego Learn, then Build – CASTLES. Ages 8-11. Learn about the skill of building castles, then use your knowledge to build a Lego castle. Can it stand up to the catapults? Thu. 7/24 10:30-12:00. Science Play ~ Air! Ages 3-6; must be potty trained. The young ones will love science as they learn about air ~ that is everywhere!  You are never too young to explore the world around you! Fri. 7/25 10:30-12:30. Bubble-mania! Ages 6-10. Younger participants are welcome with an adult.  Learn about the science & art of bubble making!  You will learn to blow lots of bubbles & even take home bubbles. Pre-registration required for each of these. Call 697-8333 to register. Cost is $18 nm/$10 m. for each session.

10). The Asheville Art Museum is thrilled to present the second work in the Museum’s Artworks Project Space—artist Sharon Louden’s innovative installation Community. This installation is a continued conversation based on a series of work that Louden started in 2013 that traces its path through installation, animation, painting and drawing. In each genre, her gestures create an implication of dance — movement and energy — transposed against the resistance of fixed squares and rectangles of color.  For this project, Louden is working in raw aluminum. When asked why she chose this medium, Louden said she chose it for its reflective nature, manageability and also the beauty of the material. Community: Sharon Louden opens to the public on July 19. The exhibition is sponsored by the John and Robyn Horn Foundation. More information is available at www.ashevilleart.org.

Monday, July 07, 2014

NCMC Events From Around the State… July 7, 2014



1). CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center will showcase the art of free family fun on July 12 in the second of the three month long popular program “2nd Saturdays,” through August. The program also commemorates the sesquicentennial of the Civil War and will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The "Weapons of the Civil War" program will exhibit private weapon collections of Cmdr. Gerald C. Roxbury, Retired U.S. Navy and Mr. Dan Mastin. During the Civil War weapons technology changed dramatically. The program will showcase an extensive collections of Civil War small arms and weapons; ranging from large to small and common to obscure items including marlinspikes, torpedoes, grappling hooks, rifles, muskets, carbines and cutlasses of both domestic and imported manufacture. There will also be costumed interpretation and outdoor firing demonstrations throughout the day provided by the Carolina Living History Guild.  To commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, North Carolina’s State Historic Sites Division and History Museums Division will be hosting programs that focus on Freedom, Sacrifice, and Memory. For a full list of these events visit http://www.nccivilwar150.com/.

2). Western Office, NC Department of Cultural Resources announces that forty images and selected artifacts on loan from the N.C. Museum of History appear in the traveling exhibit “The Photography of Lewis Hine: Exposing Child Labor in North Carolina, 1908-1918” on display at the Western Office from June 23 to October 3, 2014.  In addition to regular hours of Monday – Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the Western Office will offer several programs related to the exhibit. Hine captured the harsh realities of their mill village lives in Cabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln, Rowan and other North Carolina counties. His photographs range from girls running warping machines in Gastonia to boys covered in lint after long hours as doffers and sweepers in a Hickory mill.  The exhibit and special programs are free.  For additional information please call (828) 296-7230. The Western Office is located at 176 Riceville Rd., Asheville, N.C.

3). The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History invites you to join them at 2pm on the second Saturday of each month during the summer for Storytelling Saturdays on the Courtyard. This program is FREE to the public and our first storyteller will be Misty Hagwood. Also, don’t miss our weekend tours: Historic Mount Airy Ghost tours at 8pm every Friday and Saturday evening plus our newest tour: The Darker Side of Mayberry featuring Murder, Mystery and Mayhem!  This tour runs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 3pm.  All tours are $11 per person.  Call 336-786-4478 for additional information.

4). North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort invites you to “Kayak through History” on July 15th, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.  Before bridges and railway, travel by water was the best way to get around the coast. Experience the waterways of the past. Associate Curator Benjamin Wunderly will provide basic instruction and safety lessons followed by a relaxing paddle lead you through the salt marshes and sandbars around Beaufort. The sights and sounds of nature will be worth the paddle, the stories about early colonial settlers, local boat builders and old fishing fleets will be an added bonus. Ages 12 and up, under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Some kayak experience is recommended. Reservations: $45, $25 with own kayak. Advance registration. 252.728.7317. North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, 315 Front Street, Beaufort 28516.

5). Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art announces work by internationally recognized artist Neil Goldberg is coming soon to SECCA. Neil Goldberg: Anthology opens Friday, July 18, with an evening reception from 6 - 8 p.m. Anthology gathers together Goldberg’s conceptual artworks that contemplate the fleeting and overlooked aspects of ordinary daily experience, finding fascination, humor and poignancy in them. As part of SECCA’s solo series, Anthology explores three dimensions of Goldberg’s ethos of inviting life into art: autobiographical works which engage his parents and later memorialize the loss of his father; works that incorporate strangers and public life through observation or participation; studio works that invite other artists and intellects to critique and perform for Goldberg. Anthology includes video, photography and objects from over the last 20 years and debuts Ten-and-a-half-years-of-To-Dos, a five-channel audiovisual installation. Neil Goldberg: Anthology runs through Sunday, October 5 and is free and open to the public.

6). Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site is excited to announce the next “Writers at Wolfe” program on July 12th at 10 a.m. North Carolina author of over a dozen books of poetry and fiction, and distinguished Professor Emeritus from Washington and Lee University, Heather Ross Miller will read from her work.

7). Bellamy Mansion Museum invites you to Jazz at the Mansion with Darryl Donnell Murrill, on July 10th, 6:30pm - 7:30pm.  Join the Cape Fear Jazz Society and the Bellamy Mansion Museum in welcoming Darryl Donnell Murrill to the Mansion. Come out and listen to the sax and all of your favorite jazz tunes. Wine and beer available for sale. Tickets are $10 for members and $12 for general admission. Bring a picnic, a lawn chair, and the kids!  To find out more about Darryl Donnell Murrill, visit http://lovegodandsax.com/sax/.

8). The Spencer Doll and Toy Museum announces several new displays.  The Go Figure group, a figurative art group from the Asheville area, created an exhibit of dolls that accompany children's literature.  The figures are all handmade and use a variety of materials.  Check out Wynken, Blynken and Nod in a tiny wooden shoe boat while a spectacular dragon based on the book, Searching for the Dragon Thunder, looks like he will leap out of the display case.  The group loves to create fine dolls and to encourage others to join their creative group.  This display will be available until the end of August.  GI Joe celebrates his 50th birthday in style.  Salisbury resident, Missy Shives, has loaned her collection of early GI Joe action figures and command center.  There are tons of limited edition items and accessories to view with the figures.  This new GI Joe exhibit is on display through mid-September.  Have you seen the 14 room doll mansion that recently arrived at the museum ?  It is filled with handmade and purchased doll furniture that took the previous owner 15 years to complete. The house is 7 feet long and over 3 feet tall.  This doll house needs to be seen to be believed. The Spencer Doll and Toy Museum now welcomes visitors on Wednesdays for half price.  All entry fees will be slashed on Wednesdays until Labor Day.  Come see what you have been missing.

9). The Museum of the Albemarle in conjunction with Circle S Stables will host Gallop through Time with Circle S Stables on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 15 and 16, from 9 a.m. until Noon for children 5 to 12 years old.  Pre-registration and camp fee are required, which includes a light snack.  Participants will travel back in time to follow the evolution of prehistoric horses to the modern horse.  Discover how the horse aided over everyday lives, before planes, trains, and automobiles, and learn the proper care of this amazing animal.  For More Information Call 252-335-1453.