Whooooo�s out there in the woods? Learn about North Carolina�s owls, owl habits, calls and whereabouts and take a guided walk-an �OWL PROWL�-on the Nature Trail to see whooooo we can find! For adults and kids ages 5 and up.

Enjoy the wide open spaces with cowboy legends from the silver screen. A rotation of film productions featuring cowboys, bandits, lawmen and other western figures is sure to please. Take a break from exploring the museum and stay for as little or as long as you like. Popcorn and drinks are on sale!

We�ve rounded-up an assortment of animals from the prairies, plains and deserts that shared the land with the Cowboys. Learn about the amazing adaptations creatures have developed to survive in the harsh environments of the West. Live and preserved specimens will be on-hand for your exploration.

There is more in the night sky than you can see with your naked eye. Learn how to explore the universe with binoculars and small telescopes without leaving your own backyard. Discover what you can see in the summertime sky from your own backyard.

Take a ride back in time to the real Wild West. Journey beyond the fiction and beyond the myth, to the real world of the American Cowboy. Retrace their evolution from the Mexican vaqueros of the old Spanish southwest to the hardworking cowhands of today�s Great Basin ranches. Along the way you�ll learn the true story of the historic Texas cattle drives-when men moved thousands of unruly animals north across hundreds of miles of prairie, mountains and desert. As you travel from ranch, to trail camp, to cow town, you�ll discover the tools and techniques necessary for work in the cattle trade. It�s a story of adventurous lives lived in the saddle and under the hat. It�s an epic tale of doggies, drifters and drovers-roundups, reatas and rodeos-bunk houses, bronc busters and buckaroos!

Visit the gemstone mine at the Grist Mill to search for mineral treasures like garnets, topaz, rubies, emeralds and rose quartz. Take home what you find! Tickets are $4 in addition to museum admission.

Discover the relationship between the Earth, Moon and Sun with the help of Coyote, an amusing character adapted from Native American oral traditions who has many misconceptions about our home planet and its most familiar neighbors. Earth, Moon & Sun is a Morehead Planetarium Production.

Ride the range from American Indian star legends to black holes with cowboy poet and humorist Baxter Black. This program is a skillfully woven tapestry of star tales and Native American legends, combined with constellation identification, star-hopping, and astronomy tidbits-all told from the unique viewpoint of a cowboy astronomer who has traveled the world plying his trade and learning the sky along the way.

A mountain�s worth of ecology packed into a fun-filled week for high school students (rising 10th grade and up). Explore the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains through the lens of an ecologist. Study rare bog sites, learn the history of the Appalachians, explore waterfalls and learn skills that wildlife biologists use to track and count mountain fauna. Front country camping allows for nights around the campfire and making new friends. Get away from the city and re-connect with nature while exploring your career options for the future! Pack your sense of adventure! Includes travel, fees and meals�participants must supply their own camping gear. $450 members / $495 nonmembers Call 704-854-6676 to register by May 25.

Enough hard work � time for some frivolity and fun! Join 18th century interpreters in an assortment of traditional games familiar to Backcountry folks � card, dice, marbles, and board games. Games of skill and strength could possibly round out the play. Save energy for a round of dance and a reel or two stepped to the lively tunes from the 1700�s played by Backcountry musicians. Free with General Admission and for Schiele Members.

Richard W. Slatta, a.k.a. �The Cowboy Professor,� teaches history at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. His books include Cowboy: The Illustrated History (2006), The Mythical West (2001), Comparing Cowboys and Frontiers (1997), The Cowboy Encyclopedia (1994), and Cowboys of the Americas (1990). Recently Dr. Slatta served as a historical consultant for the Schiele Museum exhibition �Cowboys: Dust of the Trail.� Dr. Slatta will share information about the rich cowboy traditions found throughout North and South America.

Come brush up on your seashell identification before hitting the beach. Drop by to learn the basics and interesting facts about how mollusks live. This program is a great way for all ages to learn about Malacology-the study of mollusk shells.