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MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. – Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville invites the public to escape the winter doldrums and celebrate Presidents’ Day and African American heritage by visiting the complex throughout the month of February. From craft programs to documentary films, the facility offers something for everyone. All activities are free and open to the public. Throughout the month, families can create greeting cards at the Discovery Table by coloring pre-printed cards. From Feb. 2 – 13, special designs and stickers will be available to make Valentine’s Day cards. Patrons also can “Celebrate the Garden’s Bounty” from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb 20. Activities include making corn husk dolls, shelling beans and shucking corn grown in the Interpretive Garden last year. Throughout the month, families can create greeting cards at the Discovery Table by coloring pre-printed cards. From Feb. 2 – 13, special designs and stickers will be available to make Valentine’s Day cards. Patrons also can “Celebrate the Garden’s Bounty” from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb 20. Activities include making corn husk dolls, shelling beans and shucking corn grown in the Interpretive Garden last year. Black History Month will be celebrated with the film Slave Ship Mutiny and a lecture, Archeology and the Black Experience: African American Involvement in Preserving OUR Heritage. The 60-minute film Slave Ship Mutiny begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25. It is part of the “Secrets of the Dead” series produced by PBS and follows archaeologists, historians and slave descendants as they uncover the story of the Meermin, a slave ship that transported human cargo from Madagascar to Cape Town. Dramatic reenactments tell this riveting and sometimes violent story of slaves revolting and taking over the ship after misjudgments by the captain. The film is part of the regular lecture and film series held with the monthly meetings of the Upper Ohio Valley Chapter of the Virginia Archeological Society. At 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27, Robert Parker, archaeologist and tribal liaison with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District, will present the lecture Archeology and the Black Experience. Parker will discuss the role played by African Americans in the development of American archaeology, including the discovery of what was then the oldest site linking human activity with extinct animals by an African American cowboy and the first reference to blues music in 1901, when an archaeologist in the Mississippi Delta described songs of African American excavators. 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. 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 may be closed all day during inclement weather. 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. -30- |
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