North Carolina Museum of History
Hours: Monday thru Saturday 9am-5pm; Sunday 12pm-5pm
Free unless otherwise noted.
5 East Edenton Street, Raleigh, NC
For information about the Museum of History, call 919-807-7900 or access www.ncmuseumofhistory.org
About the N.C. Museum of History
The museum is located at 5 E. Edenton Street, across from the State Capitol. Parking is available in the lot across Wilmington Street. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The Museum of History, within the Division of State History Museums, is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.
To register, call 919-807-7992.
History Corner: Hand-y History
Wednesday, April 2, 10–11 a.m.
Ages 6–9 (with adult)
$1 per child
To register, call 919-807-7992.
Have you ever written a letter by hand? Try out writing tools from the 1800s, and see how people shared information before the Internet.
History Hunters: Write Your Way
Wednesday, April 2, 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Ages 10–13
$1 per child
To register, call 919-807-7992.
Quills, steel-nib pens, typewriters—learn how people communicated on paper in the 1800s, and try your hand at the art of penmanship.
Storytime in the Gallery
Thursdays, April 3, 10, 17, and 24, 10–10:30 a.m.
Ages 3 and up (with adult)
Meet a staff member at the information desk and follow your guide to one of the museum galleries. There, you can look around and listen to a history-related story.
History Speaks
Saturday, April 5, 10 a.m.–noon
Ages 12 and up
Howard Craft, Playwright, Poet, and Author
In honor of National Poetry Month, come and enjoy a unique look at the exhibit The Story of North Carolina. Craft will choose an exhibit object that “speaks” to him, inspiring him to write poetry. After hearing his work, you’ll be invited to write about an object that “speaks” to you.
Make It, Take It: Carolina Critters
Saturday, April 5, 1–3 p.m. (drop-in program)
Stop by the “family farm” in The Story of North Carolina, then create a paper critter to take home.
Time for Tots: Hats Off!
Tuesdays, April 8 and 15, 10–10:45 a.m.
Ages 3–5 (with adult)
$1 per child
To register, call 919-807-7992.
Look at and try on hat styles from the past, then decorate a hat to take home.
History à la Carte: Strangers at Home: History of Arabs in America
Wednesday, April 9, noon–1 p.m.
Bring your lunch; beverages provided.
Akram Khater, PhD, Director, the Middle East Studies Program and the Khayrallah Program for Lebanese-American Studies, NCSU
Arabs have lived in the United States since the 1870s, yet they continue to be seen as outsiders in their adopted home.
Conservation Assistance Day
Friday, April 11, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Appointment required. Call Jan Sweatt at 919-807-7823.
Do you have questions about caring for your treasured possessions? Make an appointment and you may bring up to three objects to the museum for assessment and advice on care from a museum conservator.
Fiesta Flamenca with Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana
Saturday, April 12, 2 p.m.
Dancers, a singer, and a guitarist will interpret performances to explain the rhythms and emotions of flamenco and its cultural history, which includes influences well beyond southern Spain.
Music of the Carolinas: Music for Cedars in the Pines
Sunday, April 13, 3–4 p.m.
Lebanese musicians Naji Hilal and Christopher Saleh will combine their musical talents in this unique program that highlights Lebanese culture in North Carolina.
The program is presented with PineCone and support from the Museum of History Associates, Williams Mullen, the Khayrallah Program for Lebanese-American Studies at NCSU, and Harry’s Guitar Shop of Raleigh.
For further information about any April programs, call 919-807-7900, access ncmuseumofhistory.org, or like us on facebook.com/NCMuseumofHistory.
MAY
* marks programs of interest to children or families
*Storytime in the Gallery: Transportation
Thursdays, May 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, 10-10:30 a.m.
Ages 3 and up (with adult)
Meet a staff member at the information desk and follow your guide to one of the museum galleries. There, you can look around and listen to a story about transportation.
*Readers’ Theater: Camp Followers
Friday, May 2, 7-9 p.m.
$5 per person, ages 13 and up; free, children 12 and under with adult
To register, call 919-807-7992, or purchase tickets in advance at ncmuseumofhistory.org. Tickets also can be purchased the night of the event in the Museum Shop.
Presented by Voices in Concert
Set in 1864 and based on actual events, this readers’ theater presentation features scenes from a new drama by local playwright Rudy Wallace. It follows the trials of a group of newly liberated slaves who have been abandoned in Georgia during Gen. Sherman’s historic March to the Sea.
Like storytelling, readers’ theater is a format that stimulates the imagination and often leads to a powerful experience for the audience. Minimal stage props free the performers and the audience from the physical limitations of conventional theater, and narration serves as the framework of the dramatic presentation.
Celebrate Preservation
Saturday, May 3, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (drop-in program)
Sunday, May 4, noon-4 p.m.
Talk with representatives from the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, Preservation North Carolina, the museum, and other groups and professionals from across the state and discover how they work to save North Carolina’s treasures.
Celebration Preservation: “Moving Midway”
Saturday, May 3, 1 p.m.
Godfrey Cheshire, Film Critic and Filmmaker
L.A. Weekly named Cheshire’s documentary one of the year’s 10 best films in 2008. Watch the 98-minute film and hear Cheshire discuss it afterward. “Moving Midway” blends two journeys. One follows the move of Midway Plantation, an antebellum mansion outside of Raleigh, several miles away to escape urban sprawl. The other follows Cheshire’s cousin Charlie Hinton and family as they meet the other heirs of Midway’s past — descendants of former slaves.
*Time for Tots: Start Your Engines
Tuesdays, May 6 and 13, 10-10:45 a.m.
Ages 3-5 (with adult)
$1 per child
To register, call 919-807-7992.
Rev up your engines for NASCAR. Try on some real racing equipment, learn about drivers, and make a racing flag to take home.
*History Corner: A Is for . . . Architecture!
Wednesday, May 7, 10-11 a.m.
Ages 6-9 (with adult)
$1 per child
To register, call 919-807-7992.
Architects know the difference between a column and a cornice. You will, too, after attending this program!
*History Hunters: The Perfect City
Wednesday, May 7, 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Ages 10-13
$1 per child
To register, call 919-807-7992.
What makes a good city? How do leaders decide what people need where? Let’s talk about Raleigh and come up with our own ideal city.
*History Speaks
Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m.-noon
Ages 12 and up
Howard Craft, Playwright, Poet and Author
Come and enjoy a unique look at the exhibit The Story of North Carolina. Craft will choose an exhibit object that “speaks” to him, inspiring him to write a verse. After hearing his work, you may write about an object that inspires you. Selected works will appear on the museum’s Facebook page in time for Mother’s Day.
Music of the Carolinas: Cane Creek Cloggers
Sunday, May 11, 3 p.m.
You’ll be tapping your foot as this dance troupe shares, promotes and teaches the enjoyment of old-time clogging, “flatfooting” and buck dancing in the heritage of the American South. The program is presented with PineCone and support from the N.C. Museum of History Associates, Williams Mullen, and Harry’s Guitar Shop of Raleigh.
History à la Carte: “Th’ Bullfrog”
Wednesday, May 14, noon-1 p.m.
Bring your lunch; beverages provided.
Willard McGhee, “Th’ Bullfrog”
Many are familiar with the delta and Chicago versions, but the Piedmont blues embody a distinct sound and rhythm and their own set of lyrical themes. Musician Willard McGhee carries on the legacy of Piedmont blues greats and pioneers like Blind Boy Fuller and Floyd Council.
An Evening with Woodward and Bernstein
Thursday, May 15, 7 p.m.
NOTE: This event takes place at Fletcher Opera Theater, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh
Tickets: $35, $50, $75; contact Ticketmaster (800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com/venue/115203) or visit the Duke Energy Center Box Office on Wilmington Street.
Join us in welcoming the two Pulitzer Prize winners, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who broke a story about the Watergate break-in and helped bring about the downfall of President Richard M. Nixon. David Crabtree, award-winning anchor/reporter for WRAL-TV, will moderate the evening.
The evening is presented and sponsored by the N.C. Museum of History Foundation and the Raleigh News & Observer, title sponsors of the event. Additional sponsors are First Tennessee Bank, Capitol Broadcasting Company, Goodnight Educational Foundation, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, and Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth B. Howard. Proceeds benefit the N.C. Museum of History.
*Make It, Take It: Army Patches and Badges
Saturday, May 17, 1-3 p.m. (drop-in program)
Visit the museum’s military history gallery, A Call to Arms, then make a World War II soldier patch or badge for Memorial Day.
Cedars in the Pines in the Kitchen
Saturdays, May 17 and 24, 1 p.m.
Explore the foods that made the trip from Lebanon to North Carolina. What foods survived the journey intact, what foods didn’t, and what foods were changed?
Be sure to see Cedars in the Pines, an exhibit researched and developed by the Khayrallah Program for Lebanese-American Studies at N.C. State University.
Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble
Sunday, May 18, 2 p.m.
Dr. Gregg Gelb, Director
The Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble features advanced high school musicians who study and perform the best of big-band jazz. Enjoy Duke Ellington compositions, a variety of big-band music from the swing era, and some Latin jazz.
Saturdays in the Garden
Saturday, May 31, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Join the museum’s garden staff for an informal tour of the History of the Harvest exhibit along Bicentennial Plaza and see what’s going on out there! Tours begin at the information desk in the lobby.
For information about the N.C. Museum of History, call 919-807-7900 or access www.ncmuseumofhistory.org or follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ or YouTube.
