Feb. 27, 2018
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville will be buzzing with activity in March with Fossil Day, the annual Marshall County Student Art Show, a new Featured Artist exhibit, and lecture and film programs. The museum’s Discovery Table will feature “Festive Folded Flowers,” in which visitors can celebrate the beginning of Spring by folding pre-cut sheets of tissue paper into brightly colored flowers. All activities and programs are free and open to the public.
The first program of the month is the biannual Fossil Day, which will be held from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 3. An expert will be on hand to identify and answer questions regarding fossils brought in by the public. Family activities will include looking for small fossils in a sand “matrix,” making a clay fossil bed that will be excavated in September, and a museum hunt in the exhibit Prehistoric West Virginia. The West Virginia Fossil Club also will be present with a display of fossils and to discuss club activities, such as fossil hunting.
The museum’s monthly Featured Artist exhibit series begins its new season with an exhibit of paintings and mixed media works by award winning Wheeling artist Donna J. Hall. Born in Grafton, West Virginia, Hall has been drawing since she was a child. She is a member of the Marshall County Fine Arts Guild, Artworks Around Town and the West Virginia Watercolor Society. Guests can visit the exhibit during regular museum hours.
The Complex also welcomes the 36th annual “Marshall County Student Art Show” with an opening reception from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 17. The art show will be on exhibit through April 7th. This competitive show features drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures created by students from Marshall County’s middle and high schools.
The monthly “Second Saturday” film will be shown at 1 and 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 10. “We Shall Remain: America Through Native Eyes – Trail of Tears” explores the resolve and resilience of the Cherokee people when faced with removal from their homelands in the American Southeast. This 60-minute program is part of the PBS American Experience series.
March events end with a lecture titled “From Fairchance to Santa Barbara: A Shared Experience” by Bruce M. Rothschild, M.D. The lecture will be presented Thursday, March 29, at 7 p.m. Dr. Rothschild will discuss yaws, a disfiguring illness that still exists today. Archaeological evidence indicates that prehistoric Native Americans suffered from this disease, and tracing the patterns of how and where the disease was transmitted can show how these different populations interacted.
Operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex features one of the largest conical burial mounds built by the Adena people between 250 - 150 B.C. and ranks as one of the largest earthen mortuary mounds anywhere in the world. Exhibits and displays in the Delf Norona Museum interpret what is known about the lives of these prehistoric people and the construction of the mound. The complex also houses the West Virginia Archaeological Research and Collections Management Facility.
Admission to Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex is free. The Delf Norona Museum, located at 801 Jefferson Avenue, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday. Outdoor access closes at 4:30 p.m. and availability is weather permitting.
For more information about activities and programs at Grave Creek Mound, contact Andrea Keller, cultural program coordinator, at (304) 843-4128 or andrea.k.keller@wv.gov or visit www.facebook.com/gravecreekmound and www.twitter.com/gravecreekmound.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the Office of Secretary of Education and the Arts with Gayle Manchin, 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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