SCHOOL GROUP TOURS
Museum staff in conjunction with the Museum’s volunteer education committee of retired educators can create a tour tailored to the classroom/grade-level curriculum or offer a general tour of Swannanoa Valley history through the museum galleries. Please call us at (828) 669-9566 or email svmvolunteer@gmail.com to schedule a tour.
ALL MUSEUM TOURS ARE FREE TO SCHOOL GROUPS.
Exhibit Tours
Age Range: K-12
Length: 30 min. – 1 hour (depending on grade level)
This activity, led by museum staff and volunteers, walks students through one or both of the exhibits that are housed inside the museum. We mount at least one temporary exhibit annually in our first floor gallery and continually enhance our second floor permanent exhibit exploring the general history of the Swannanoa Valley.
Our permanent exhibit, Our Pathways, on our second floor gallery explores the valley through the eyes of some of the people who have called it home. This exhibit helps visitors learn about the Native, African-American, white, and immigrant peoples of the valley who have shaped our its history as educators, hunters, artisans, law enforcement, midwives, soldiers, musicians, and more.
Our temporary exhibit, Striking a Chord: Music and Community in the Swannanoa Valley, follows the history of music in the valley including the Swannanoa String Band at the Asheville Farm School, the Martin Family, the Moser Family, Ray Green and Green Acres Picking Parlor, Walt Davis, Roseland Gardens, McDibbs, and Roberta Flack. The people and their music have been instrumental in building the community and values that have made the Swannanoa Valley the special place that it is today.
Click here to view Our Pathways virtual exhibit.
Historic Walking Tour of Downtown Black Mountain
Age Range: K-12
Length: 45 min. – 1 1/2 hours (depending on grade level)
This activity, led by museum staff and volunteers, takes students on a tour of historic downtown Black Mountain. During the tour, students will analyze historic photographs of several buildings and compare these photographs to their corresponding present-day locations, helping them to understand the buildings’ history and uses over time.
Click here to view our Historic Walking Tour route.
History’s Mysteries Activity + optional Exhibit Tour
Age Range: K-8
Length: 30 min. – 1 hour without Exhibit Tour, 1 1/2 hours with Exhibit Tour
This activity, led by museum staff and volunteers, helps students become history detectives through the examination and analysis of real 19th century artifacts. Students will make use of inference and context clues to determine the purpose of these objects, helping them understand the day-to-day activities of farm families in the early to mid-1800s.
Native American History Detective Activity + optional Exhibit Tour
Age Range: K-8
Length: 30 min. – 1 hour without Exhibit Tour, 1 1/2 hours with Exhibit Tour
This activity, led by museum staff and volunteers, helps students become history detectives through the examination and analysis of real Native American artifacts. Students will make use of inference and context clues to determine the purpose of objects from SVM’s Native Artifacts collection and understand the daily life of ancient American Indians in the Southeast.
