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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SUMMER ADVENTURE IS BACK!
Starting TODAY, June 1st until July 27th 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 “Here Be Dragons”, feed the butterflies in our updated 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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AFTERNOON EXPLORATIONS
Thank you for joining us for a great year of Afternoon Explorations! We look forward to seeing you this summer for Summer Adventure!
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LASER DAYS OF SUMMER
Join us in July for Laser Days of Summer! We have everything from Taylor Swift to Queen to Stranger Things. More information about times and show offerings can be found on our website here:
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Butterflies have returned to Roper Mountain! Located in our new greenhouse between the Harrison Hall of Natural Science and the Living History Farm, the new Butterfly Encounter allows visitors to interact up close with hundreds of our flying friends, all native to the Southeast. During your time in the butterfly house, you may even have butterflies land on you as you feed them with designated feeding wands that we provide.
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Plants found in Butterfly Encounter are specifically selected to entice the butterflies to come down so you can get a closer look. Keep an eye out for some of their favorites including Lantana, Pentas, Verbena, Cosmos, and other butterfly loving flowers. These are great nectar plants that you can plant at home to attract butterflies too!
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Join us Tuesday-Saturday between 10AM-4PM beginning June 1st to welcome back butterflies to Roper Mountain. Last entry into Butterfly Encounter is at 3:30PM. More information can be found here: Details and Tickets. | |
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LIVE DEMO ON FOX CAROLINA
Tune in on June 11th between 10-11AM to see Thomas Riddle and learn more about our exhibit “Here Be Dragons” and our updated Butterfly Encounter!
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FURMAN OLLI
The science center recently hosted its first “bonus event” for Furman University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLI). Bonus events are single-day adult learning experiences that OLLI offers each winter and spring. They take place either at Furman’s institute or at an off-campus site of the instructor’s choosing. Dr. Brandis Hartsell instructed a class called “Fantastic Fossils of Land and Sea”. Participants learned about the formation of fossils and the role they play in helping us uncover the diversity of Earth’s life forms through time. A tour of the Marine Lab gave everyone a chance to see connections between marine fossils and the organisms that created them. It was an enjoyable afternoon for all!
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SUMMER CAMP
Camp Spaces Available!
Junior Master Gardener S1 and S2 – complete both weeks and become a certified Junior Master Gardener!
Weeks of June 24 and July 8
Hollywood Makers, week of June 10th
Visit our website for more information and to register: https://www.ropermountain.org/public.asp?titleid=summercamp
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Did you know that South Carolina now has an official state carnivorous plant – the Venus flytrap? Venus flytraps only exist in the wild in just two places on earth. A small area of North Carolina within a 50 mile radius of Wilmington, N.C. And in South Carolina, they are just found within a few counties near Myrtle Beach. They have evolved to capture mostly live ants and spiders in nitrogen poor soils in these scattered sandy areas of our coastal plain. Their special habitat needs must provide open sun and wet depressions found in Carolina Bays and longleaf pine savannas. They are also fire-dependent to prevent being shaded out by competing vegetation.
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The modified leaves of Venus flytraps act like a spring trap catching prey to digest. The inside of the leaf has six trigger hairs that must be moved twice in the same direction for the trap to close. The leafy trap opens later allowing the wind to remove the undigested remains.
Threats to Venus flytraps include habitat loss, poaching and fire suppression. Because of the loss in populations, Venus flytraps have been petitioned to be listed as an endangered species. In North Carolina, they are listed as a state threatened species.
Find out more about Venus flytraps and their critical habitat in Carolina Bays, during Summer Adventure, in the Ecology Lab in Harrison Hall of Natural Science.
By Tim Taylor, Roper Mountain Natural Science Specialist
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Fluor Golf for Greenville recently awarded Roper Mountain $160,000 in proceeds from their annual charity golf tournament. Funds will be used to purchase a new, state-of-the-art digital theater system for the Hooper Planetarium. The new system will allow us to update and enhance our current astronomy programming, including new licensed shows, pre-scripted astronomy and science demonstrations, star talks and interactive live shows. We will also purchase a new show called “James Webb Telescope: The Story Unfolds.” The show features the latest imagery from James Webb telescope and will be featured in our Starry Nights program during 2025.
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We also welcome two new Community Partners this month, HDR and Garver. Both are engineering firms that recently opened an office in Greenville. We are excited to have these two new partners on our team!
HDR provided a grant to purchase new equipment and materials for the 4th grade Powerful Decisions lab. Look for these new additions during the 2024-2025 school year!
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Garver donated funds to expand and support the hundreds of animals we have here at Roper Mountain. Taking care of our animals, fish, reptiles and amphibians is a big job!
Thank you HDR and Garver for your support which helps us fulfill our mission to ignite the natural curiosity of all learners to explore and shape their world.
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Summer Adventure is here! Have you prepared by downloading your digital membership card? Expedite your entry to RMSC by showing your digital card or pre-ordered tickets at the entrance for fast and easy admission.
If you have not accessed your digital membership card, you can do so through these simple instructions:
- Sign into your online account on your phone
- Go to the membership section in your Profile
- Click on Digital Membership and select the card to download
- Add the card to the wallet on your phone to load the membership number and barcode
- Show your membership card at the entrance for admission
Tickets can also be pre-ordered and accessed through your online account. If you have not set up an online account you can do so at https://rmsc.ticketapp.org/portal/register.
Please contact Audrey Pyle, Membership Coordinator, at Apyle@greenville.k12.sc.us or 864-355-8902 for further assistance.
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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.
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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
South Carolina Farm Bureau
Explorer:
BMW Manufacturing
GE
SEW-EURODRIVE
Voyager:
Audacy Communications
Greenville Federal Credit Union
Rose Ball Committee
Milliken, Inc.
Spartanburg County Foundation
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Adventurer:
AFL Global
Bank of Travelers Rest
Bannon Foundation
Brian Cauthen
Contec, Inc.
HDR
Koops, Inc.
Ryobi Power Tools
Minor and Hal Shaw
South Carolina Charities
TD Charitable Foundation
Innovator:
Greenville Master Gardeners
Kay and Les Knight
Carla and Brian Olson
Piedmont Natural Gas
Publix Super Market Charities
ScanSource Charitable Foundation
Kathryn and Jerry Smith
South Carolina Humanities
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We welcome your feedback. Email Roper Mountain to share your thoughts. | | | | |
