Bluegrass Heritage Museum [KY]

Description

The Bluegrass Heritage Museum presents the history of central Kentucky from the time of Eskippakithiki and European contact to the present day. Topics include agriculture, building history, quilting, Clark County, the military, and telephones. This is the only museum in the U.S. to discuss the history and impact of burley tobacco farming. The museum is located within a Romanesque Revival former clinic.

The museum offers exhibits. The website includes a word find activity.

Devil's Den State Park [AR]

Description

This National Historic District holds what has been called the most complete example of Civilian Conservation Corps park architecture. Selected as a park site in the 1930s, Lee Creek Valley provided the native wood and stone that the Civilian Conservation Corps used to craft the park's CCC/Rustic Style buildings and structures that include a native stone dam, a unique pavilion/restaurant, cabins in several styles and sizes, roads, trails, stone walls, bridges, and the iconic Yellow Rock Overlook.

The site offers exhibits.

Sandy Spring Slavery Museum and African Art Gallery [MD]

Description

The Sandy Spring Slavery Museum and African Art Gallery promotes cross-cultural communication, and presents the history of African Americans—from their ancestral ways of life in Africa, their cross-Atlantic voyages, and the Underground Railroad to the Civil Rights Movement and their accomplishments in the United States. Collections include a cross-section of a slaving clipper ship, textiles, instruments, furniture, and a cabin which depicts the living conditions of African Americans circa 1850 to 1870.

The museum offers exhibits and 90-minute tours. At least one week advance notice is required for admission.

Reed Gold Mine [NC]

Description

Reed Gold Mine is the site of the first documented gold find in the United States. It was here in 1799 where Conrad Reed discovered a 17-pound yellow rock, which later turned out to be gold and was sold for only $3.50. From this discovery, gold mining spread gradually to nearby counties and eventually into other southern states. Sections of the mine's old underground tunnels are open for guided tours. The site includes a museum with exhibits on gold mining and several nature trails.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, demonstrations, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Historic St. Mary's City [MD]

Description

Historic St. Mary's City presents the first capital of Maryland and fourth permanent British New World settlement via living history interpretation. Sites include the reconstructed 1676 State House, the square-rigger Maryland Dove, a working tobacco plantation, and a Yaocomaco Native American settlement. St. Mary's is an early example of government supported freedom of religion.

The museum offers exhibits, interpretive signage, an audio tour, self-guided tours, four hour school tours which complement state educational standards, hands-on activities, and picnic areas. Reservations are required for school and group tours. The website offers a virtual tour and children's activities.

Historic Charleston Foundation, Nathaniel Russell House, and Aiken-Rhett House [SC]

Description

The Foundation maintains two historic houses, the Nathaniel Russell House and the Aiken-Rhett House. Set amid spacious formal gardens, the 1808 Nathaniel Russell House is widely recognized as one of America's most important neoclassical dwellings. The house is furnished with period antiques and works of art that evoke the gracious lifestyle of the city's merchant elite. Today the Nathaniel Russell House interprets the lives of the Russell family, as well as the African-American slaves and artisans who were responsible for maintaining one of the South's grandest antebellum townhouses. The Aiken-Rhett House stands alone as the most intact townhouse complex showcasing urban life in antebellum Charleston. Built in 1818 and greatly expanded by Governor and Mrs. William Aiken, Jr. in the 1830s and 1850s, the house has survived virtually unaltered since 1858.

The foundation offers occasional recreational and educational events; the Nathaniel Russell House offers tours; the Aiken-Rhett House offers tours.

Texas Highway Patrol Museum

Description

The Texas Highway Patrol Museum chronicles the lives of Department of Public Safety officers past and present, while honoring the 74 troopers who have been slain while in the service of the people of Texas. Collections include vintage uniforms, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow photographs, and officer memorabilia.

The museum offers exhibits and programs on drunk driving and personal safety.