Your Monthly News & Updates | | |
Our Mission
To ignite the natural curiosity of all learners to explore and shape their world.
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AFTERNOON EXPLORATIONS
Afternoon Explorations final day of the season is May 9th! Join us for the last four days of the school year and then again for Summer Adventure which kicks off May 28th
Afternoon Explorations is open every Thursday and Friday from 1:30PM-5:00PM (last entry at 4:00PM) During each visit you’ll have the opportunity to explore some of your favorite parts of Roper Mountain including Environmental Science Building, Harrison Hall, the Living History Farm, Pirate Playground, and so much more!
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SUMMER ADVENTURE
Summer Adventure is back! Starting May 28th until July 26th you can visit Roper Mountain Tuesday-Saturday between 10AM-4PM with the last entry at 3:00pm. While you’re here you can encounter our traveling exhibit “Wild Kratts: Creature Powers!”, feed the butterflies in our Butterfly Encounter, visit the outdoor dinosaur trails including the multiple play areas, discover the Living History Farm, pet a stingray in the Marine Lab, and so much more!
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FRIDAY STARRY NIGHTS
Fueled by Fluor
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Friday Starry Nights
The Cowboy Astronomer
May 2nd, 9th, 16th,
23rd, 30th
4:30 p.m.
Details and Tickets
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Friday Starry Nights
Invaders of Mars!
May 2nd, 9th, 16th,
23rd, 30th
6:00 p.m.
Details and Tickets
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Friday Starry Nights
From Earth to Universe
May 2nd, 9th, 16th,
23rd, 30th
7:30 p.m.
Details and Tickets
| | Members: If you are unable to attend your scheduled showtime, please contact us at 864-355-0805 by 2:00pm Friday so your reserved seats can be made available to other patrons. | | |
SUMMER CAMP OPPORTUNITIES STILL AVAILABLE!
A few openings are still available in our very popular summer camps!
Completed Grades 4 or 5:
Junior Master Gardener S2, June 23 – 27, 9am – 4pm
Completed Grades 5, 6 or 7:
Rockets & Rovers, weeks of June 9, 16 and 23 (M – Th each week), 9am – 4pm
Ages 12 – 15:
Take Control, week of June 9, 9am – 12noon
For detailed information, see our Camp Guide or Register Here.
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iMagine Festival
Thank you to everyone who activated their Creature Powers with us during the iMagine festival! We can’t wait to see you again for the Wild Kratts Creature Powers! exhibit opening May 28th at 10:00am!
| | ROPER MOUNTAIN ANNIVERSARY | | |
Building a Dream: Laying the Foundation for Roper Mountain Science Center
In 1977, a historic opportunity set the stage for Roper Mountain’s future. Dr. Ray Moses of Furman University learned that the U.S. Navy was offering the historic Alvan Clark Telescope originally built for Princeton University in 1883. After years of disuse, the telescope was available to any agency that could restore it. Dr. Moses shared the news with his friend, veteran Greenville County physics teacher and science consultant Sarah Manly, who immediately saw its potential for the new science center forming in Greenville. With the support of Superintendent Dr. J. Floyd Hall, and the advocacy of Senators Strom Thurmond and Fritz Hollings, the telescope was secured for $1—plus $10,000 in shipping costs. Arriving in 1978, it symbolized the beginning of the center’s transformation.
| | The Alvan Clark Telescope in the Princeton Observatory | | |
In 1982, the school district constructed its first building on the site--the Horticulture Center. Built to serve high school horticulture students, it would eventually be turned over to the Science Center as classroom space for field trips, but not before the high schoolers played a valuable role in helping to landscape the grounds and plant the Cromwell Arboretum. Meanwhile, the Greenville County Soil and Water Conservation District added two educational ponds onsite. Yet, progress temporarily slowed when Hobbs resigned due to health issues in 1983. Dr. Hall then hired Darrell Harrison, a seasoned museum director, whose arrival marked a turning point.
Under Harrison’s leadership, a bold Master Plan was developed, envisioning a Pioneer Farm and expanded facilities for life, earth, and physical sciences. Understanding the center’s regional potential, Harrison worked with the council to broaden support beyond Greenville County. To further this vision, the Roper Mountain Science Center Association was established in late 1983 to manage membership, volunteers, and fundraising, allowing the Advisory Council to conclude its essential work.
Reflecting on those early days, Harrison later said, “The Advisory Council were the glue that held the idea of the science center together.” Their determination, alongside visionary leadership and community support, laid the foundation for what would become one of the Upstate’s most beloved educational treasures.
| | | All of Roper Mountain is excitedly preparing for the 40th anniversary. Harrison Hall of Science is doing its part as new exhibits, interactives, and animals are preparing to do their part to celebrate this incredible milestone. | | |
The Vietnamese Mossy Frog has joined amphibian alleyway in the rainforest classroom. The mossy frog is a master of disguise in its native habitat of the northern Vietnam rainforests, where its bumpy, green-and-brown skin mimics a clump of moss and helps it to evade predators like snakes and mammals! Their native habitat includes flooded caves where they cling to cavern walls with sticky toe pads, only emerging at night to hunt insects like crickets. Fun fact: these frogs use the cave rocks and unique vocal structures to “throw” their voices up to 13 feet, making them nearly impossible to locate in the wild which enhances their camouflage abilities.
| | The Shark Encounter area outside the rainforest will soon sport an upgraded great white mount that will continue to thrill all the brave guests who enjoy sticking their heads into the shark’s mouth and smiling for Christmas Card worthy photos. The upgrades to the great white include a series of lights that will help guests see a shark superpower called the ampullae of Lorenzini. These tiny jelly-filled pores on their snouts detect electric fields given off by nearby prey, like a fish’s heartbeat. This cool sense helps them hunt in murky waters, making them nature’s ultimate underwater detectives. | | |
Our Ecology habitat is joining in with the addition of a new Autumn Whirlwind maple tree. This exhibit was completed in-house by our Natural Science Specialist, John Hurley, and it has already become a favorite with some of our younger guests. As children place gold, crimson and amber fall maples into a tree hollow they are delighted to see that these leaves come shooting out of the top of the tree and cascade back down onto the play area. Children then busy themselves raking the leaves into piles only to repeat the whole process and repaint the air with bursts of fall colors.
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Do You Know that the best way to identify frogs is by their calls? Male frogs call mainly to attract a female using a vocal sac located on their throat, which inflates like a balloon. Each frog has a unique call and calling time anywhere from January through October. The breeding season depends upon these environmental factors: temperature, rainfall and length of day.
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We have around 15 species here in the Upstate of South Carolina. In March I heard these frogs at Conestee Nature Preserve: Spring Peepers, Pickerel, Leopard, and American toads. In early April, I listened with second graders to an American Bullfrog calling from our pond at Roper Mountain. Also in early April, I heard my first Cope’s Gray Tree Frog in our neighborhood.
The calls of these frogs can be described as the following:
Spring Peepers- One per second- Peep, Peep, Peep, Peep
Pickerel Frogs- Snore even while underwater
Leopard Frogs- a cackling or laughing sound
American Toads- Pleasant trill up to 30 seconds
Bullfrog- Deep pitched JUGO’RUM
Cope’s Gray Treefrog- A hearty trill lasting about 10 seconds
Frog populations have been on a decline due to habitat loss, fragmentation, invasive species, pesticides, diseases, and the chytrid fungus. Learn more about frogs by visiting our Harrison Hall of Natural Science during Summer Adventure. On display at Roper are frogs from S.C. like toads and treefrogs and rainforest frogs like our poison dart frogs and new Vietnamese Mossy frogs.
By Tim Taylor, Roper Mountain Natural Science Specialist
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| |  | This month's volunteer spotlight goes to Alia Uzarraga Reaser! Alia started as a volunteer last summer and quickly excelled in every volunteer role that she was put in! Alia comes in every shift with a friendly face, ready and willing to take on whatever the day holds. She volunteers year round, both with Summer Adventure and Afternoon Exploration. Last summer, she could often be found engaging with visitors at the Living History Farm. You may have seen her keeping the line moving in a friendly and fun way at gem mining, or helping guests overcome their fears of cows and chickens in the barn. :) She always has a positive attitude and is happy to answer any questions that you may have. She excelled so much last summer that she even won our "baby spud" award that a Volunteer of the Day is awarded down on the Farm. You can see her proudly holding her baby spud award in this picture. Next time you visit Roper Mountain, look for Alia down on the Farm and thank her for her 100 hours of service as a dedicated volunteer.
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This month, we give a shout out to a new Community Partner, Upcountry Fiber. Located in Pickens, Upcountry Fiber provided funds this year for over 400 sixth grade students from Gettys Middle School and West-Oak Middle School to experience two of our hands-on learning labs free of charge.
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We also want to thank Piedmont Natural Gas, a longtime Community Partner, that has provided support for our school and public programs for the past 8 years. Along with their partners from Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas has participated in the STEM Days of Summer, a popular feature of Summer Adventure.
Thank you, Upcountry Fiber and Piedmont Natural Gas for helping us fulfill our mission to ignite the natural curiosity of all learners to explore and shape their world.
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Members receive 10% off all t-shirt and hat purchases. Mention that you are a member to receive your discount.
PLUS earn an additional 25 points each time you wear your t-shirt to Nature Exchange!
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Spark Good
Walmart recently launched Walmart Spark Good Round Up where customers can round up their purchases to the nearest dollar and donate the change to their favorite charity. We would love for you to choose Roper Mountain Science Center as your charity to receive these donations every time you shop on Walmart.com. Just select us from the drop down menu when you checkout!
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Give Back to Roper Mountain
We appreciate your consideration in making a donation to support our mission to help lay the foundation for future successes for school and public programming.
Make a gift to Roper Mountain today.
| | THANK YOU COMMUNITY PARTNERS | | |
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Visionary:
BOSCH Community Fund
The Daniel-Mickel Foundation
Dodge Industrial, Inc.
Fluor Foundation
Fluor Golf for Greenville
Greenville Water
Lockheed Martin Corporation
ReWa
Explorer:
BMW Manufacturing
GE
SEW-EURODRIVE
Voyager:
Arthrex Charitable Foundation
Audacy Communications
Greenville Federal Credit Union
Jeff Lawson
Milliken & Company
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Adventurer:
ABB
AFL Global
Bank of Travelers Rest
Bannon Foundation
Brian Cauthen
John R. and M Margrite Davis Foundation
HDR, Inc.
Moons Drug Store
Ryobi Power Tools
ScanSource Charitable Foundation
TD Charitable Foundation
The Timken Company
Upcountry Fiber Foundation
Vulcan Materials Company
Innovator:
Broad River Electric Charities
Greenville Master Gardeners
Bonnie Jilek
Carla Rivero-Olson and Eric Olson
Piedmont Natural Gas
Publix Super Market Charities
| | We welcome your feedback. Email Roper Mountain to share your thoughts. | | | | |
