September 2020
Your monthly news & updates
Our Mission
To ignite the natural curiosity of all learners to explore and shape their world
MOUNTAIN UPDATES
As a facility of Greenville County Schools, we are following current guidelines provided by SC DHEC and are closed for all public programming until further notice. Please check our website or social media for details on when we will re-open to the public for all activities.
Membership
All current memberships have been extended for an additional three months to account for the closure of our facility. We appreciate your support of Roper Mountain during these unprecedented times and are grateful for the support you have provided. We continue to welcome any additional donations you may be able to make. Visit our donation page to make a gift today. 
Virtual Field Trip Program Award
Roper Mountain’s Virtual Field Trip Program has received a 2019-2020 Pinnacle Award from The Center for Integrative Learning and Collaboration (CILC), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization focused on virtual programs for students and lifelong learners. 
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Doing Big Things on a Little Mountain Online Event is an opportunity for individuals to find out more about what we do and what’s next for Roper Mountain Science Center.

Well known public speaker, speech coach, and Greenville Water Commissioner Deb Sofield will serve as our emcee. Former U.S Secretary of Education Dick Riley will provide remarks, and Greenville Water Commission Chairman Phillip Kilgore will discuss the importance of our new Environmental Science and Sustainability Center and its impact on our community.

Plus, you will receive a unique preview of our new Center and hear more about our future plans!
September Sky Talk
Sept. 4
7 – 8 p.m.
Virtual Star Party
Sept. 25
8 – 9 p.m.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
AND SUSTAINABILITY BUILDING UPDATES
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY BUILDING UPDATE
We have a building! Harper Construction has officially turned the keys over to us to begin making the new Environmental Science and Sustainability Center a unique, hands-on and engaging place for learning and innovation.
Studio Displays will start the installation of the Roper Mountain Habitat walk through in the Orientation and Waterfall, which will open the Water Story exhibit sponsored by Greenville Water.
MOUNTAIN HIGHLIGHT:
HARRISON HALL OF NATURAL SCIENCE
OTHER PROGRAM UPDATES
After this summer’s inventory, we have 63 exhibits / enclosures with 91 different species, and approximately 283 animals (not including large invertebrate colonies)!
The breakdown is as follows:
Two different mammal species: three total animals (2 rabbits and
1 chinchilla)
17 different reptile species: 30 total animals (9 snakes, 11 turtles, 9 lizards, 1 alligator)
12 different amphibian species: 31 total animals (23 frogs, 6 toads,
2 salamanders)
34 different invertebrate species:
123 total animals (not including large terrestrial colonies or aquatic snails) (18 terrestrial animals, ~105 aquatic animals—includes estimates of
sea stars and hermit crabs)
26 different fish species:
96 total animals
(44 freshwater, 52 saltwater)
Harrison Hall has a beautiful new exhibit thanks to a generous donation of marine fossils from Lee Cone. Lee is a retired high school science teacher who travels to various fossil sites around the country to collect shark’s teeth and vertebrae from dolphins and other small whales. The display features teeth from many shark species and is intended to show an evolutionary progression leading to the extinct great white shark, Carcharocles megalodon, whose teeth are also featured. The whale vertebrae are included because whales are one of the sharks’ primary prey species. Several pieces of whale bone have distinct gouges from the teeth of larger sharks.
This display was funded by Dr. Brandis Hartsell. It’s a welcome addition to Harrison’s shark-themed central lobby.
OTHER PROGRAM UPDATES
The Virtual Field Trip Department has been hard at work formatting programs to support learners utilizing Virtual and eLearning for the 2020-2021 school year. 
DID YOU KNOW?
…that the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is the state butterfly of South Carolina and commonly seen feeding on the nectar flowers in our Butterfly Garden?
Swallowtails are the largest of our butterflies, with most having the characteristic tail-like projections on the hindwings. Male Tiger Swallowtails are usually solid black and yellow. Females can be black and yellow with bluish scales on their hindwings, or sometimes present as a dark morph to mimic the poisonous Pipevine Swallowtail.
In our Butterfly Garden, the life cycle of this butterfly along with other common butterflies are featured on a sign. The caterpillar of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail matures on nearby yellow poplar and black cherry trees. If you want to attract butterflies, start a butterfly garden with a variety of host and nectar plants.
SUPPORT THE MOUNTAIN
Give Back To Roper Mountain:
Even with hallways and learning labs temporarily emptied of our students and visitors, we are continuing to do all we can to keep students, visitors and staff of Roper Mountain safe and connected. There is no question that this year will provide unique opportunities for our community to connect in new ways while meeting the challenges of the way things are in the world now. School lessons and public programs are being re-tooled to be delivered online; lessons are being created to help establish state standards in environmental science and sustainability; animals throughout our facility are being cared for daily; and our staff are collaborating in exciting new ways. A donation from you will help move our mission forward and lay the foundation for future success. Please consider making a gift to Roper Mountain today.
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.
Spread The Word About Roper Mountain
Please consider visiting our Facebook page, TripAdvisor page, Google listing and / or Yelp page to leave a review and help us spread the word about all that we have to offer.
THANK YOU COMMUNITY PARTNERS!
Visionary:
ABB
Duke Energy Foundation
Fluor Foundation
Greater Greenville Sanitation
Greenville Water
John I. Smith Charities
The Jolley Foundation
Ernest and Betty Lathem
Lockheed Martin
Michelin Charity Golf Tournament
Piedmont Arthritis Clinic, PA
ScanSource
Symmes Foundation
 
Explorer:
Community Foundation of Greenville
GE
Bill and Jean Schmidt

Voyager:
BMW Manufacturing
South Carolina Charities, Inc.
 
Adventurer:
Aeronix, Inc.
Chick Fil-A of Pelham Road
Milliken
Nexeo Plastics
Ron and Tommie Reece

Innovator:
Fluor
State Farm Insurance
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
We welcome feedback. Email Roper Mountain to share your thoughts.