Asheville, NC

An exciting new installation of USC's natural history collections, 3rd Floor

Through the hundreds of specimens available in the library, the Museum visitor can travel the world through minerals. Gold from South Carolina, amethyst from Brazil, malachite from Namibia, fluorite from England, and skutterudite from Morocco are just a few of the minerals on display.

This program is a wonderfully interesting way to learn about the culture of the early Cherokee Indians in the Lexington area.  The children touch various animal hides, teeth and claws from black bears, foxes, deer, raccoons and rabbits.  Baskets, food, hunting, fishing, clothing, and pottery are shown and discussed.  An animal-tracks game teaches children to identify the paw prints that Cherokee children saw every day.  Each child gets to make their own clay pinch pot to take back to their class.

The second half of the program has the guide telling the children early Cherokee stories about animals to which the guide uses music and hand puppets.  A ceremonial dance takes place in which the children participate by wearing masks, dancing and playing musical instruments such as the drums, hawk bells and turtle rattles.  After the dance, the children participate in various Native American games such as Lacrosse, Chunkee, and others which test hand to eye coordination. 

These two hours are sure to provide great enjoyment and give good insight into the Cherokee culture.  This program is available during morning hours only.  It is free to groups thanks to the generosity of the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties.

To schedule a group visit or to learn more about our educational programs, please contact the Coordinator of Visitor Services, Bonnie Hix, at 803-359-8369.

Children test their skills at such outside games as horseshoes, jump rope, and some Native American games from the 1700s and 1800s.

Group Programs are offered during the following days and hours throughout the year. Up to two successive one-hour tours may be done by each group during a day:

Days: Tuesday through Friday

Times:   9:30 am – 10:30 am

           11:00 am – 12:00 pm

             1:00 pm –   2:00 pm

             2:00 pm –   3:00 pm

Please contact the Visitor Services Coordinator at 803-359-8369 for more information or to set up a tour.

Thanks to the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties, these programs are offered free of charge.

Children enter the world of a nineteenth century farm child in this program.  Using authentic tools, children plow, rake, hoe, plant seeds, and build a scarecrow in our picturesque farm setting.  Sorry there are no animals, however. 

Group Programs are offered during the following days and hours throughout the year. Up to two successive one-hour tours may be done by each group during a day:

Days: Tuesday through Friday

Times:   9:30 am – 10:30 am

           11:00 am – 12:00 pm

             1:00 pm –   2:00 pm

             2:00 pm –   3:00 pm

Please contact the Visitor Services Coordinator at 803-359-8369 for more information or to set up a tour.

Thanks to the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties, these programs are offered free of charge.

The John Fox House, constructed around 1832, provides the backdrop for this program.  Guides point out various everyday items in the antebellum era such as the bed warming pan, the spittoon, the chamber pot, the rope bed, and much, much more.  Children then return to an activities room and get to experiment with replica items that they have just seen.  Most children who experience this program can go into any museum house of the same time period and feel at home while being able to know how everyday objects were used.

Group Programs are offered during the following days and hours throughout the year. Up to two successive one-hour tours may be done by each group during a day:

Days: Tuesday through Friday

Times:   9:30 am – 10:30 am

           11:00 am – 12:00 pm

             1:00 pm –   2:00 pm

             2:00 pm –   3:00 pm

Please contact the Visitor Services Coordinator at 803-359-8369 for more information or to set up a tour.

Thanks to the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties, these programs are offered free of charge.

Children go into a fully outfitted loom house with spinning wheels and a loom.  They are shown how these items are used.  Children get to experience the use of cotton cards, picking seeds out of cotton, and even weave on little individual lap looms.

Group Programs are offered during the following days and hours throughout the year. Up to two successive one-hour tours may be done by each group during a day:

Days: Tuesday through Friday

Times:   9:30 am – 10:30 am

           11:00 am – 12:00 pm

             1:00 pm –   2:00 pm

             2:00 pm –   3:00 pm

Please contact the Visitor Services Coordinator at 803-359-8369 for more information or to set up a tour.

Thanks to the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties, these programs are offered free of charge.

This is a program in which children see quilts, learn about early quilt patterns, and themeanings behind the patterns.  A quilt story is read while the children design their own quilt patterns with paper and crayons.

Group Programs are offered during the following days and hours throughout the year. Up to two successive one-hour tours may be done by each group during a day:

Days: Tuesday through Friday

Times:   9:30 am – 10:30 am

           11:00 am – 12:00 pm

             1:00 pm –   2:00 pm

             2:00 pm –   3:00 pm

Please contact the Visitor Services Coordinator at 803-359-8369 for more information or to set up a tour.

Thanks to the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties, these programs are offered free of charge.

This program is offered in the summer.  Various classic stories as well as historical and Native American stories are read.

Group Programs are offered during the following days and hours throughout the year. Up to two successive one-hour tours may be done by each group during a day:

Days: Tuesday through Friday

Times:   9:30 am – 10:30 am

           11:00 am – 12:00 pm

             1:00 pm –   2:00 pm

             2:00 pm –   3:00 pm

Please contact the Visitor Services Coordinator at 803-359-8369 for more information or to set up a tour.

Thanks to the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties, these programs are offered free of charge.