Mammoths and Mastodons, extinct relatives of modern elephants, roamed much of North America until the end of the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago. This specimen-rich exhibit tells the story of these fabulous creatures, and of some of their close relatives and neighbors as revealed by fossil discoveries and current research. The exhibit features 80 specimens that include extinct proboscideans and some of their Ice Age neighbors, such as carnivores, horses, giant ground sloths and giant armadillos.

Discover North American “megafauna” including giant sloths, short-faced bears and bison that roamed the Ice Age landscape. Learn about possible reasons for the extinction of most of these species around the same time that humans appeared in North America.

Ice Age hunters in Europe, Asia and North America pursued the great mammoth for food, tools and shelter. Learn about their weapons, lifestyle and hunting methods as we tour TUSKS! Ice Age Mammoths & Mastodons.

Visit our farm to learn how animals, plants and the earth sustained the Piedmont settlers. Travel through an illustrated history of the Catawba Indians from the 16th - century bark house to the hewn log cabin of 1850. Learn about the close bond between earlier people and the local environment that provided food, clothing and shelter.

Watch costumed interpreters go about their work preparing beds, planting herbs and weaving the garden fence. Take home a sprig of rosemary for remembrance of your visit!

Make and learn to play a whole basketload of Native American games from a variety of North American cultures - hidden ball, toss dice, Apache darts, hand games and more. Adult workshop. Call 704-866-6912 for registration information.

Construct an Early Neolithic earth/stone oven and learn its use. Non-oven primitive breadbaking techniques also will be covered. Adult workshop. Call 704-866-6912 for registration information.

Come experience a day of waterfalls in Pisgah National Forest. Bring a poem or story to share about your mother, and learn about the strong female culture throughout history. For mothers and daughters of all ages. Most hikes are easy to moderate and less than a mile. Transportation, healthy snacks and lunch included.

Enjoy a trip to Eastern North Carolina for a weekend of fossil fun. Visit downtown Aurora, the fossil museum, and displays and vendors at the annual fossil festival on Saturday. Then join members of the North Carolina Fossil Club on a visit to the PCS mine to collect 10-million-year-old specimens of your own to keep on Sunday. Lodging, transportation and dig equipment included.

Utilizing 18th-century tools and techniques, participants will create their own hand crafted hearth or house broom and a pioneer style kitchen whisk!

Visit our gemstone mine to find mineral treasures, including garnets, topaz, rubies, emeralds, rose quartz and more. Learn about geologic forces that create gemstones and search for tiny 10-million-year-old fossils from the Carolina Coast. Take home what you find!

Explore the night in this planetarium program that uses science, history and sky lore to link us with the spring skies. The Spring Sky Show is a classic night sky presentation appropriate for all ages.

People have been fascinated with dinosaurs since the first discoveries of their fossils. Discover the diversity and magnificence of these great creatures that dominated the earth millions of years ago.

The search for life in the universe begins deep in the earth’s oceans and extends out to the stars! Explore conditions that are favorable for life to exist on our planet and throughout the universe. Discover the diversity of life on our home planet even as humans embark on the search for life in the universe.