Gastonia, North Carolina, has a variety of fun, educational activities for kids and adults. You can learn about nature, check out interesting art, or let your kids learn through hands-on play. Here are some of the best museums to visit in Gastonia and the surrounding area.
The Schiele Museum
Bud Schiele and his wife, Libby Hobbs, founded The Schiele Museum of Natural History in 1961 when they were in their 60s. They had collected and preserved many cultural artifacts and natural specimens. The museum’s exhibits are from North America. You can look at dinosaur skeletons, explore an 18th-century farm, see a Stone Age heritage site, and more. The Creepy Nature gallery teaches people how plants and animals can sometimes be scarier than horror movies.
The James H. Lynn Planetarium and Science Theater has a digital projection system that surrounds viewers with a domed screen for an immersive experience. The planetarium can entertain 152 viewers per show. There’s a gift shop, and parking is free. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. There are several different exhibits, so seeing everything could take a few trips.
Discovery Place
Discovery Place Science is in Charlotte, about half an hour away from Gastonia. It has a variety of classes, exhibits, and activities for kids and adults. Thinker Space classes teach people basic skills like sewing, as well as how to use new tools and technologies. There’s also an aquarium, an IMAX theater, and an exhibit about human anatomy and physiology where you can learn about the body’s organs and what happens when you exercise. The Explore More Life exhibit lets you see live animals like Madagascar hissing cockroaches, horseshoe crabs, and sea urchins.
If your children are younger, visit Discovery Place Kids in Huntersville. It’s also about half an hour away, and it’s built like a small town to let children learn from play. The I Can Be Healthy exhibit teaches the basics of shopping for and cooking healthy food. It also teaches how food gets from farms to homes. With I Can Work, kids can try out being a veterinarian, a firefighter, an ambulance driver, or a patient. You can also see daily puppet shows, dance parties, and science experiments.
Bechtler Museum of Modern Art
Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte opened in 2010. Andreas Bechtler inherited much of the collection from his Swiss parents, Hans and Bessie Bechtler. It includes works by Miró, Picasso, Giacometti, Calder, Warhol, Hepworth, Nicholson, Ernst, Le Corbusier, and many others. Only a few of these pieces have been available for viewing in the United States before, so even art aficionados can see unique, new artwork. Temporary exhibitions change about every six months, and it’s easy to enjoy multiple visits.
Learning new things and seeing new sights is a wonderful way to spend a day for kids and adults. Next time you’re searching for something fun to do, visit a museum near Gastonia.
Image via Flickr by lauri_vain/under use by CC BY 2.0
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