We went awhile back to see Charlotte and were sorely disappointed. Hearing of her death today…read morereminded me I had forgotten to write a review. This location is privately run and not for educational purposes. More like going to a friends house to see their pets. Please consider going to an aquarium run by scientists for educational purposes.

I want to say this has been one of the highlights of my family trip. When your 16 yo his 17 yo best…read morefriend and wife all agree on this fact it says something. As adults we have this tendency to say "if I knew then what I knew now, I'd have paid more attention in school!" Well here's your chance. This tiny aquarium will impart more knowledge in a short visit than you probably take in most months if you take advantage of it. The interns and owner (a former teacher) are committed to answering questions. The things they are studying and sharing are amazing. If you go in and you want to learn and ask questions this will be an experience you won't forget. Think of the best science teacher you ever had, having an opportunity to show the world what she loves to talk about... and that is what you have here. Do yourself a favor, go, enjoy and learn!!

I love gemstones so getting to see where the only emeralds in America are found was so incredible…read more The mines here were originally owned by Tiffany's. You can explore a mini mine replica where it has different mining machines once used in the mines. Along with this you can learn about other gemstones and my favorite part which is getting to search and sift through your own gemstone sandbag. They also have a large shopping selection. They can turn stones you find while sifting through your sandbag into cut gemstones and jewelry pieces. Very cool experience!

Emerald Village is located in Spruce Pine, NC. It is a hidden gem that I highly recommend visiting…read more The campus is large so you can visit some attractions or all. I opted to tour the mine, visit the country store, visit the museum, and mine gems. Besides the mine, there were extra exhibits in the building. One was about the mine and the other on tobacco. At one point there were 12 mines. The tour is of the Bon Ami Mine. Some of this is accessible but to get down to the mine there are railroad ties used for stairs. The portion of the mine with the tour has everything labeled so you can read about it as you go. You just go to the top portion of the mine so it isn't claustrophobic. I was worried about that. Just watch your step as the railroad tracks are still there. They are easy enough to step over or go around but if you aren't paying attention could trip. You can enjoy the views and waterfall while learning about the mine and seeing the equipment. I liked that they had some storyboards and the small building to see the rocks with the black light. It was a unique museum to learn about mining. The country store was nice with the history of the medical office, post office and store replicas. The mill building had exhibits on twelve levels. A model railway exhibit, music room, black light room to see minerals. The only way to see this building was by stairs. This was the only part I didn't really care for but did enjoy parts of it. I did the gem bucket from McKinney Mine. It was a large bucket so after I got a feel for it, I gave the rest of the bucket to some kids nearby. A nice perk is they offer wifi to guests as I lost service in the remote location. So that helped me get to my next destination. I also liked ow well the attraction was marked and labeled so you knew where everything was.

An historic monument is this place we all call tiny town .. it is owned a ran by a local family…read morewho. Love Christmas time and want to share it with everyone .. there's a lot of lights and little priceless antique exhibits and then there's this huge fire pit that you all can sit around and drink free hit chocolate while you gaze at the beautiful fire . Tiny town is our history and I hope they never stop

Tiny Town is mesmerizing! The thing about Tiny Town is that there is something for everyone…read more Something will catch the eye of every visitor, no matter the age. Ran by selfless, kind people just looking to spread joy. Tiny Town is a true treasure that should not be passed up or taken advantage of.

Hands down best arcade museum in the region! My wife and I…read morelove this place. The owners are fantastic folks. I would highly recommend this awesome place!

So much fun with all the old games and such nostalgia! I felt like I was stepping back in time to…read morewhen I was a young boy... Will definitely return to here when we come back through.

I love it here. I am a very science-y girl, I love anything to do with science and medicine. So, of…read morecourse, I started coming here a few years ago. The planetarium shows are gorgeous, my particular favorite was one about monarch butterfly migration. The Aquarium and reptile section is so cool, you get to see these massive tortoises and an alligator named Lucy, pet sting rays, fish of all kinds, etc. You can also explore the human body section and the physics section, where you can play on a special pulley system on a physics playground. There is also a section with insects where you can take a closer look at different types of preserved butterflies. And, every three years or so, they hold a butterfly exhibit where you can watch the butterflies flutter about. They'll even give you some sugar water on your finger, and butterflies will come flocking to you and even land on you! I had the privilege of being present for it last year and butterflies landed on me left and right, I absolutely felt like Snow White! All in all, the Catawba Science Center is a family friendly learning environment that is perfect for field trips of all kinds. You won't regret visiting!

The Catawba Science Center is located next to the Hickory Art Museum in the SALT complex so I…read morestopped here too. It was about $15 to visit the museum. I had reciprocity but didn't think to ask about it and they didn't ask like is done at the other museums. The Science Center was on the small side and a lot of the exhibits were out of order. The exhibits they had seemed geared more to younger children. So there wasn't a lot there. I never found my way to the aquarium as that is apparently in another building and that was not mentioned. The planetarium show wasn't starting until 2pm so that was disappointing. I will go back with my reciprocity to see the building I missed.

Mineral and Lapidary Museum of Henderson Co: My family and…read moreI decided to embark on a weekend getaway to one of our favorite counties, Hendersonville North Carolina. Instead of hiking and enjoying outdoor activities. We decided to explore Hendersonville, a quaint little town. While walking along the streets, close to the courthouse, we stumbled upon the Mineral lapidary Museum of Henderson Co. The museum is non-profit-volunteer based, with no admission but donations are appreciative. From the outside the museum looked interesting so my family decided to go inside. I was not disappointed and can't believe there is no admission fee. The museum is located on the second floor, so you will have to go up some stairs, not sure if there was an elevator for those unable to climb the stairs. We were greeted with friendly staff members, who were eager to answer our questions. I have never been in a mineral and lapidary museum before. The museum had a wide range of minerals and artifacts, as far as I could remember there was: raw and faceted specimens, Fluorescent minerals, North Carolina minerals, diamonds (they were so pretty), geode, and fossils. My favorite fossil is the giant dinosaur. I would say the museum is an average size, not too big or small. There is enough space to walk around without feeling claustrophobic. If you are spending the day with your family or friends, I would check out the museum-all ages will enjoy it. Just to make a note of, there are limited parking spaces, since you are in the town, but you should be able to find a spot within a short walking distance. In addition, as of what I saw, there is no restroom inside the museum, but I might have missed it though. If you are in the Hendersonville area, I would recommend spending a day in the town, because there are so many things to do, shopping, museums, and cafes. Make sure to stop by the Mineral and Lapidary Museum of Henderson Co and will definitely be back with the family.

The Mineral & Lapidary Museum of Henderson County is located in Downtown Hendersonville. Admission…read moreis free but they accept donations. Paid parking is available on the street. The museum is located in the basement so stairs are required to access the museum. The museum is on the smaller side but I was quite impressed with the collection and variety. The fluorescent exhibit is near the entrance, so make sure you check that out as it is a great educational demonstration. There are gems and minerals from the area and the world. There is a gift shop as well. It is a great place to visit and explore.

What a cool little spot off the beaten path to explore and take some photos. There's tons of…read morehistory in the area, and we decided to pop over to explore, wanted around, and be creative. I love old buildings and architecture, so exploring around Asheville and the surrounding towns was such a blast. Definitely worth the stop!

Located in the Heritage Green museum area of Greenville, the Upcountry History Museum is the…read moreperfect small city museum. It has well laid out and informative permanent exhibits, giving you a great overview of the history of the region without it being information overload. They have a fairly large theater that plays a film if you're not too interested in walking around the exhibits. It's fairly compact in size, so you can visit both floors quickly if you are in a rush, or take an hour or two depending on your level of interest. They have several rotating special exhibits, which I feel is essential to keeping things fresh and encourages repeat visits. On my visit, I found both the special exhibits on the Avengers and Lady Bird Johnson to be of excellent quality. However, there was a dinosaur exhibit which I felt was of poor quality and not very informative, and it seemed to be more of an area for younger kids to play rather than have visitors learn. They are setting up to have a Looney Toons special exhibit some time in the next year. There is a small gift and cafeteria area with vending machines on premises. They participate in the Bank of America Museums on Us program, providing complimentary visits to cardholders the first full weekend of every month. Overall, I'd rate the Upcountry History Museum a 4.5 stars out of 5 for a small city museum, but happy to round up since I enjoyed my visit and found it vastly superior to the Greenville County Museum of Art a few minutes away.

The commercial build up for this exhibit was more exciting than the actual exhibit. I don't mind…read morepaying the entry fees to help keep them stay open , but I expected a better display of the special exhibit . One room and hardly any items to support the display. We went to see the Warner brothers display. Disappointed.