Roper Mountain Monthly Newsletter -January 2021

January 2021

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.

UPCOMING EVENTS

January Virtual Sky Talk

January 8, 7:00 – 8:00pm

Details and Tickets

*** Please note this event is not located at Roper Mountain but is a virtual event.***

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MOUNTAIN HIGHLIGHT:

HOOPER PLANETARIUM AND DANIEL OBSERVATORY

The Charles E. Daniel Observatory and Hooper Planetarium have been busy developing and facilitating virtual lessons for elementary and middle school students. Beginning in November, fourth grade students were able to virtually join us in the Observatory to learn about light, telescopes, and to see a live view of the sun. After Thanksgiving, we switched to a virtual planetarium where the students were able to explore planets, stars, and constellations. Once the third quarter begins for schools, we will provide similar experiences for eighth grade students.

For the public, we have been offering two virtual programs a month. The first is our monthly Sky Talk in which we discuss what is currently visible in the sky and what astronomical events will be happening later in the month. The second event is our Star Party where we come to you live from the Observatory and show planets, moons, and stars through our 23” refractor telescope. We are looking forward to the day we can have people back in our buildings, but until then, we will continue to offer these virtual events!

OTHER PROGRAM UPDATES

Science On Wheels is premiering two new animal outreach programs that will travel to schools. "Habitat Hunters" will visit Kindergarten students and "Animal Investigators" will visit 2^nd grade classes. These programs were designed to move from classroom to classroom so that the students could stay in place per COVID-19 safety protocols. Find out more information about these new offerings on our website.

DID YOU KNOW...

…that Roper Mountain is a monadnock, which is a Native American term for a lone mountain that stands alone over the surrounding area? These “lone mountains” are erosional remnants of ancient mountain ridges that because of their more resistant rock, now rise above the surrounding hills and valleys. Other monadnocks in our area are nearby Paris Mountain and Glassy Mountain.

The ridge top on Roper Mountain is also a watershed divide separating two neighboring watersheds, with one side draining water to the Reedy River, and the other side draining water to the Enoree River.

What is your favorite view of Roper Mountain around town?

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

Bosch

Duke Energy Foundation

Greater Greenville Sanitation

Greenville Water

John I. Smith Charities

The Late Dr. Ernest and Mrs. Betty Lathem

Lockheed Martin

Michelin Charity Golf Tournament

Piedmont Arthritis Clinic, PA

ReWa

ScanSource

Symmes Foundation

Explorer:

Community Foundation of Greenville

Fluor Foundation

Dr. Bill and Mrs. Jean Schmidt

Voyager:

BMW Manufacturing

Adventurer:

Chick Fil-A of Pelham Road

Greenville Evening Rotary Charities, Inc.

Nexeo Plastics

South Carolina Charities, Inc.

Innovator:

AFL Global

Piedmont Natural Gas

SC Humanities

State Farm Insurance

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

We welcome feedback. Email Roper Mountain to share your thoughts.