Your Monthly News & Updates |
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Our Mission
To ignite the natural curiosity of all learners to explore and shape their world
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A huge thank you to everyone who supported Roper Mountain’s GivingTuesday 2021 efforts on November 30. Thanks to your generosity, we raised the $16,000 needed to fund a brand-new planetarium show for school and public programs: Magic Globe: A Story of the Seasons. Look for the new show to premiere this spring during Friday Starry Nights! |
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Strategic Planning Survey
We are beginning a strategic planning process and would greatly value your input. By answering the following questions, you will play a vital part in assisting in the continual improvement of Roper Mountain and our primary mission of providing unique, high-quality field trips for K-12 programs in our community and beyond.
Thank you for helping to ensure that Roper Mountain continues to make strides to becoming a pinnacle of innovative learning, an engine for community engagement, and a national leader in science education.
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Friday Starry Nights:
Beyond the Sun
January 7, 14, 21, 28
6:00 p.m.
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Friday Starry Nights:
Ultimate Universe
January 7, 14, 21, 28
7:30 p.m.
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Afternoon Explorations
Continue your learning adventures throughout the school year in some of your favorite spaces at Roper Mountain as part of our Afternoon Explorations program.
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Afternoon Explorations
Special Event
Join us on Thursday, January 13, to explore the wonderful world of natural science as we open the Rainforest Classroom, Marine Lab, and Ecology Lab in Harrison Hall as an added experience to that day’s regular Afternoon Exploration activities.
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MOUNTAIN HIGHLIGHT:
HARRISON HALL OF NATURAL SCIENCE
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The Harrison Hall department has been excitedly working to prepare four new and revised lessons for fifth grade field trips that start this month. These “Sea It In A Day” lessons will allow students to explore wrack lines, biodisks, simulate contents of a sea turtle's stomach, virtual reality scuba diving, touch tanks, hydrothermal vents, and more. Students even have the chance to investigate a model of the sea floor with an underwater ROV and camera system, allowing them to identify the mysterious landforms that make up the oceanic floor…all without leaving the Mountain! |
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Even though it’s winter, life continues to thrive in Harrison Hall! The marine lab has added three new fish species to the Estuary tank: the Spotted Sunfish, Flier Fish and the Warmouth. Additionally, the Coral Cat Shark recently laid eggs, which students can see in one of the touch tanks! |
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In October, Harrison Hall welcomed the Australian Walking Sticks to a habitat in the Rainforest. These spiny leaf insects are known for their thorn-like spikes which are for defense and their active and passive camouflage that helps them to almost perfectly blend in with leaves and branches. This insect will also sway back and forth when disturbed so that it closely imitates the movement of leaves when the wind blows. Can you spot the leaf insect hanging from the branch in the picture? |
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Science on Wheels offers standards based outreach programs that travel directly to schools to avoid the challenges of planning a field trip. Thanks to a generous grant from Lockheed Martin Corporation, qualified schools in Greenville, Pickens, Spartanburg, Anderson and Laurens counties can receive these programs absolutely free. Contact Jennifer Romatelli to see if your school qualifies for a scholarship or to book now!
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The Science PLUS Institute is now accepting applications for the 2022 summer session! To qualify, an applicant needs to be currently teaching 1st-12th grade science at a public school in South Carolina. The application and course schedule can be found HERE.
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…that the groundhog – also called a woodchuck – is one of our “true” hibernators here in the South? None stay asleep (known as torpor) the entire winter, as they rise periodically on warmer winter days to feed, urinate, and defecate. Groundhogs need to hibernate mainly because their plant food is not available during the winter.
Before they enter hibernation groundhogs stuff themselves, producing fat deposits to survive the winter without feeding. As they enter their short hibernation, their body temperature drops to as low as 35 degrees Fahrenheit. Their heart and breathing rates also fall to help them survive hibernation.
Groundhogs belong to the group of large ground squirrels and burrow. Their winter burrow – or nest chamber – is lined with dead leaves and dried grasses. Hibernating burrows are dug below the frost line, sometimes as deep as three feet below ground, to retain a stable temperature.
We hope you’re as excited to celebrate Groundhog’s Day as we are on February 2; let’s hope that Punxsutawney Phil does not see his shadow, so we can have an earlier spring. What should we name our resident groundhog here at Roper Mountain?
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Give Back To Roper Mountain:
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AmazonSmile
You can support Roper Mountain in the Amazon Shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones. Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations. 1. Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device 2. Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into 'Settings' 3. Tap 'AmazonSmile' and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process. We appreciate your continued support of Roper Mountain, now more than ever.
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Spread The Word About Roper Mountain
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THANK YOU COMMUNITY PARTNERS! |
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Visionary:
ABB
BMW Manufacturing
Community Foundation of Greenville
The Daniel-Mickel Foundation
Duke Energy Foundation
Fluor Golf For Greenville
Greater Greenville Sanitation
Greenville County Litter Prevention
Greenville Evening Rotary Charities, Inc.
Greenville Water
John I. Smith Charities
The Late Ernest and Betty Lathem
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Michelin Charity Golf Tournament
Piedmont Arthritis Clinic, PA
ReWa
SCETV
Symmes Foundation
Explorer:
Fluor Foundation
GE
SC Charities
WK Dickson
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Voyager:
Debbie Bell
Tom and Linda Hamilton
The Darrell Harrison Family
MetroConnects
Ron and Tommie Reece
Brad Wyche and Diane Smock
State Farm Insurance
Adventurer:
Fielding and Gally Gallivan
Neil and Joy Grayson
Greenville County Soil and Water
Hal and Minor Shaw
Spinx Corporation
Innovator:
AFL Global
Cindy Crick Law, LLC
John R. and M. Margrite Davis Foundation
Rob and Katie Howell
Piedmont Natural Gas
Robert and Madison Wilson
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We welcome your feedback. Email Roper Mountain to share your thoughts.
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