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Museum of York County
Explore the Carolina Piedmont and its connections to the world at the Museum of York County!
With more than 2,000 specimens at your fingertips, The Naturalist Center will guide your learning adventures. In the Settlemyre Planetarium, travel the cosmos from the comfort of your seat with state-of-the-art digital projection and new programs. In Tot Town, a playful learning space awaits our youngest visitors, while award-winning exhibitions and programs exploring a variety of natural history topics.
The Museum Gift Shop offers items of interest for all ages. A picnic area and Nature Trail offer outdoor experiences.
On View at the Museum of York County:
Changing Exhibits:
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Coming SoonDinosaur Discoveries: Ancient Fossils, New IdeasThis traveling exhibition from the American Museum of Natural History presents scientific sleuthing and the array of investigative tools—from bioengineering computer software to CT scans—used by modern scientists to reinterpret many of the most persistent and puzzling mysteries of dinosaurs: what they looked like, how they behaved, and how they moved. It also explores the complex and hotly debated theories of why—or even whether—they became extinct. |
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Coming SoonDiscovering Carolina Dinosaurs“Phyllis,” the museum’s life-size Coelophysis model, returns. She is featured along with other significant fossils and casts from the Museum of York County’s collections to educate visitors about the dinosaurs that once called the Carolina Piedmont home. |
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Nature Nook Gallery featuring Dinosaurs GaloreFeaturing the art work of students from eight Rock Hill elementary schools, this exhibit is inspired by the dinosaurs that once roamed the Carolinas. |
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Know Your NatureAn interactive, nature-themed exhibit. Packed with fun, hands-on activities, the exhibit highlight ways for kids and families to discover, appreciate, and experience the natural world around us. Learning is an adventure as you explore the wildlife of the Carolina Piedmont – climb a rock outcropping and explore the hidden nooks and crannies of trees, rocks, and streams. |
Permanent Exhibits:
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Ice Age Carolinas: Exploring Our Pleistocene PastExperience a journey back in time to encounter the strange, gigantic, fierce, and fantastic beasts that once roamed the Carolinas! Featuring life-sized models, taxidermy mounts, diorama and habitat settings, fossils, interactives, and interpretive displays, Ice Age Carolinas portrays the Carolinas’ prehistoric landscapes and wildlife during the Pleistocene Epoch from 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago. See, touch, and learn about fossils and the fossil sites in South Carolina that helped paleontologists piece together this fascinating story. |
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Naturalist CenterThe only Smithsonian-styled education center in South Carolina, with more than 2,000 specimens at your fingertips, will guide your learning adventures from the Piedmont and across the globe. |
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Carolina Piedmont Hall's Landscapes and Lifeways: The Carolina Piedmont 600 Years Ago and TodayCompare the present landscape with the Piedmont of the 1400s, before European exploration and settlement. |
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Settlemyre PlanetariumLet this state-of-the-art theater, featuring the region’s only fulldome digital projection technology and a surround-sound system, transport you from the Carolinas to any point in space and time including beyond the planet Earth. |
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Tot TownBased on the imaginative artwork of nationally-known illustrator and long-time Rock Hill resident Vernon Grant, a playful learning space awaits our youngest visitors in Tot Town! |
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Nature TrailExplore the sights and sounds of a Piedmont forest and creek along our ¾ mile loop trail. Be on the lookout for native trees, seasonal wildflowers and resident wildlife such as birds, reptiles and insects. Pause at the edge of Big Dutchman’s Creek or bring a lunch to enjoy in our shaded picnic area. Geocaching policy. |