Feb. 12, 2019
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex invites guests to “Green Up Your Winter Blues” with an afternoon of free activities relating to gardening from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16. The program is free and open to the public.
Towards the end of a particularly cold winter, it is time to beat the winter blues with some indoor gardening! Visitors can learn how to plant seeds and propagate plants as well as take part in several activities relating to the museum’s Interpretive Garden such as making a corn husk doll, a corn pendant and grinding corn on replica grinding stones. There also will be a demonstration of making cordage, or string, from dogbane plants harvested from the garden. Evidence of prehistoric string is exhibited in the museum in the form of cord-marked potsherds that were given a distinctive texture by pressing flat sticks wrapped with string into the clay pot when it was still damp and soft. Seeds from plants raised in the Interpretive Garden will be available to take home and grow.
An additional craft activity will include decorating a “slap” bracelet at the museum’s Discovery Table, perhaps with a drawing relating to gardening and plants. The blank bracelets will be available throughout February.
Operated by the West Virginia Department of Arts, 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.
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.
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