A Visit To The Museum Of York County

The Museum of York County.

On Saturday, March 19th, my travels took me back to one of my favorite childhood field trips from my grade school years, the outstanding Museum of York County. 

In adulthood -- that is, if any of y'all really want to classify yours truly as an adult -- I have maybe revisited this lovely little museum about two other times before the other day to see a couple of unique presentations. The last visit before this was about the early summer of 2003 to see an outstanding Dinosaur exhibit that featured some of the prehistoric creatures that lived in this part of South Carolina over 100 million years ago in the later half of the Mesozoic Era during the Cretaceous Period. I never miss a chance to indulge in my childhood love for Dinosaurs. 

While the museum's exhibits -- some temporary and many permanent -- are largely geared for children and school trip crowds, there are many exhibits there for people of all ages to enjoy. One is never too old to learn new things. 

My brother Alex came along for the ride and also thoroughly enjoyed himself. My young nephews Tyler and Caleab, as well as my sister and her husband were also supposed to go, but there was a change of plans at the last minute. Oh well, maybe next time. 

My brother Alex - The devil himself.

One of the highlights of the exhibits included the Naturalist Center, the only Smithsonian-styled education center in South Carolina, containing over 2,000 specimens unique to the SC Piedmont plateau on display, some of them hands-on.

"I got those bear necessities..."
Photo taken by B. Alex Wallen

The highlight of the trip was our final stop in the Museum of York County -- The Settlemyre Planetarium. This state-of-the-art theater, featuring the region's only full-dome digital projection technology and an amazing surround-sound system, presented an absolutely amazing night sky display and presentation of our solar system and beyond. The whole trip was worth it -- so was the two hour wait time to get in. 

The Museum of York County also includes a very well stocked Gift Shop near the entrance.
Needless to say I did get at least one souvenir from the trip.

The museum staff was very helpful and friendly when we asked them various questions about the outstanding exhibits the small museum had to offer.

Overall the trip was a nice little diversion and well worth the stopover. My sense of childhood nostalgia -- such as it is -- satisfied, I bid the place a fond farewell. The next stop for us was the nearby town of Pineville. 

If you want to plan a visit to the Museum of York County, please check out the following website:  www.city-data.com/articles/Museum-of-York-County-Rock-Hill-SC.html