Summer Fun for Family: Pickin’ and Grinnin’ at Earl Scruggs Center
If you’ve ever watched the television series, The Beverly Hillbillies, you may remember musicians Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt. Occasionally, they sauntered through the Clampetts’ mansion door pickin’ and grinnin’.
If you missed their appearances, you didn’t miss out on their music. Scruggs and Flat performed the theme song for the show.
You can share the history of the toe-tapping, bluegrass music with your children by visiting a wonderful museum in western North Carolina. The Earl Scruggs Center, which opened in January 2014, is located on Lafayette Street in Shelby, North Carolina.
My local homeschool group visited the museum, housed in the former 1907 Cleveland County Courthouse. An array of activities provided opportunities for learning the history, music, and cultural traditions of Western North Carolina.
Presented with complimentary ear buds upon arrival, each visitor is encouraged to plug in and participate throughout the museum. Receiving a set of earbuds, to keep as their own, brought immediate delight from the children.
What You’ll Discover at the Earl Scruggs Center
At the museum, you’ll learn about the legendary banjo player, Earl Scruggs, known for popularizing the three-finger playing style.
Through live demonstrations, short films, and exhibits you’ll discover how Scruggs continually stretched music boundaries by learning new techniques to grow with the changing times. The museum definitely pushes the edge with fascinating technology.
One of the most popular, interactive exhibits is the Common Threads table. Touch screens, the size of a dinner table, make different instruments, various music styles, and musicians come to life. The students in our group found the hands-on learning extremely fun!
Another exhibit allows participants to adjust the speed of a banjo-picking visual so they can actually see the placement of each finger and hear the sound it produces. Fascinating!
In addition to sharing the the evolution of banjos and playing styles, the Earl Scruggs Center also houses exhibits on other aspects of N.C. history, such as the cotton industry, cooking, and the advancements of technology.
I want to go back and read all the interesting tidbits I missed. The excited children I accompanied didn’t linger long enough for me to read them all. They were always eager to see what was next.
Earl Scruggs recorded some Christian bluegrass at one time. I’m curious to see if there is anything posted about how his faith influenced his music.
Extras
The Earl Scruggs Center offers lots of valuable resources on their website. They have free downloads to “ESAdventures are tools and activities that assist teachers in organizing their visit to the center and tie experiences to the classroom. It also offers students a fun and personalized way to interact with the Center’s exhibits.”
Special events occur at the Center on a regular basis—from southern cooking demonstrations to outdoor performances. You can find out what’s taking place as well as the hours and prices on the website: www.earlscruggscenter.org
Allow plenty of time for your visit. We went with a group of sixty people and stayed for about three hours. We still didn’t feel like we explored it fully and look forward to returning.
All ages will find numerous things of interest at the Earl Scruggs Center. However, I think the current exhibits are best suited for children over age five. But, those under five get in free! So, pull the kids off the sofa and set out for an adventure. Even if they’re not instrument pickers, I’m confident they’ll leave the Earl Scruggs Center grinning.
A freelance writer, Sally Matheny’s writing is published in worldwide, national, regional, online, and print publications. Sally focuses on the power of story, history, and His Story to tell the next generation wondrous things.
Connect with her on various social media sites. When she’s not hanging out with family and friends, or engaging in an American history class, you’ll most often find her at SallyMatheny.com or Pinterest.
