Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex Announces September Family Activities

 News…

MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville announces programs and events for September. Throughout the month, visitors of all ages can enjoy Fossil Day, Smithsonian magazine’s Museum Day Live!, the monthly lecture and Discovery Table craft. Also, don’t miss the newly installed exhibits that feature the history of the Mound and the prehistoric people who once inhabited the region. All programs are free and open to the public.

Schedule of September Programs

Saturday, Sept. 15, Noon to 4 p.m. – Fossil Day, Visitors are invited to bring fossils for expert identification, along with hands-on activities and a museum hunt for the younger crowd. The film “Rocks and Rivers: West Virginia’s Geologic Heritage” also will play throughout the day.
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2 to 4 p.m. – Join Grave Creek Mound staff in the Interpretive Garden to learn more about plants growing in the garden, such as corn, beans, squash, sunflowers, goosefoot, milkweed and dogbane. The Complex also will be celebrating Smithsonian magazine’s Museum Day Live! during museum hours, where partnering museums across the country offer free admission to visitors.
Thursday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m. – Lecture and Film Series, “New Light on an Old Fort” will be presented by James Tomasek, park ranger with the National Park Service at Fort Necessity.
Discovery Table – “Petroglyph Rocks,” view photos of petroglyphs (carvings into rock faces and boulders made by Native Americans), then draw designs on a pebble collected from the garden of the historic Cockayne Farmstead in Glendale, W.Va.

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 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. and availability is weather permitting.

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