PaleoPalooza at the State Museum

PaleoPalooza is returning to the South Carolina State Museum, more alive than ever Saturday, June 16, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. This full day of natural history will feature flying birds of prey, a slithering reptile demonstration, a special appearance from South Carolina naturalist Rudy Mancke and more.

Rudy Mancke, the current Naturalist in Residence at the University of South Carolina, will be one of the experts guests will have the chance to meet. Mancke is a native of South Carolina who is best known by his former SCETV segment NatureScene. In short clips he called NatureNotes, Mancke shared his knowledge of the natural world with viewers for over 20 seasons. For a decade Mancke served the public as the State Museum’s first natural history curator.

Jim Knight, also a former curator of natural history at the South Carolina State Museum, will relay his snake expertise to guests in two talks during the day. Last year guests interacted with Knight through a Skype call to learn about research he was conducting in Panama. At this year’s event guests will meet Knight, in person during an exciting presentation featuring live snakes.

Winged Ambassadors from Sharpsburg, GA will be visiting with large birds of prey, including America’s treasured bald eagle. Live flight demonstrations of these trained animals will take place twice during the day.

Family fun education stations will also be open, featuring hands-on activities to explore your inner paleontologist. Children can get creative and draw their favorite animal, living or extinct, for a chance to win a cool prize.

PaleoPalooza is free with museum general admission or membership. As a special offer, guests can experience the museum’s new 4D film, Ice Age: No Time For Nuts 4D and Tiny Giants 4-D for only $5 during Paleopalooza.