May 5, 2015
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. – Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville is inviting the public to visit the museum for a full month of free family activities in May. From storytelling to planting a garden, exhibits to films and lectures, there is something for everyone at the complex this month.
On Saturday, May 9, Grave Creek will present “Saturday Stories” with members of the West Virginia Storytelling Guild. Judi and Tom Tarowsky of St. Clairsville, Ohio, and Rich Knoblich of Wheeling will regale visitors with stories from 1 - 2:30 p.m.
Spring brings the planting season, and visitors can join staff and volunteers in seeding the museum’s Interpretive Garden from noon - 4 p.m., on Saturday May 16 and Saturday, May 30. Participants can plant heirloom seeds of sunflowers, squash and gourds, which the Adena people who built Grave Creek Mound likely grew, with replica tools. Corn and beans, which became important staples for Native Americans who lived in the area after the Adena, also will be planted. Additional garden-related activities and displays will be set up in the museum’s Activity Room, come rain or shine.
The monthly film series will air Secrets of the Valley: Prehistory of the Kanawha, throughout the afternoon on Saturday May 16, 23 and 30. The 28-minute film tells the story of the Native American people who lived in the Kanawha River Valley during prehistoric times. It is based on excavations conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Marmet Locks, and was produced by Paradise Film Institute.
Throughout the month, Grave Creek will have the exhibit A View into West Virginia Coal on display, a series of charcoal drawings made by students from Moundsville Middle School. Visitors also can “Plant a Sunflower” at the Discovery Table, with seeds from the Interpretive Garden through May 23. From May 25 - July 2, the Discovery Table activity will be “Windows of the Past,” and participants can create a stained-glass effect by scratching a design into plastic film covered by a special black coating.
The monthly lecture program will take place at 7 p.m., on Thursday, May 28, with William C. Johnson presenting “The Early and Early Middle Archaic Period Occupations at the Confluence of the Little Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, Parkersburg, West Virginia.” The program will describe archaeological investigations that were conducted at the site. The excavations uncovered deeply buried sites with some components that are about 8,000 years old.
For more information about May’s activities or other events at Grave Creek Mound, contact Andrea Keller, cultural program coordinator, at (304) 843-4128 or email her at andrea.k.keller@wv.gov.
Operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex features the largest conical burial mound in the New World and ranks as one of the largest earthen mortuary mounds anywhere in the world. The Delf Norona Museum, located at 801 Jefferson Avenue, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It is closed Sunday and Monday.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts with Kay Goodwin, Cabinet Secretary. The division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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