As temperatures continue to get cooler around Rock Hill, we here at the Rock Hill Coca-Cola Bottling company thought we’d take our picnic trips a little closer to home. We also started looking for places that offer indoor actives in addition to the option for an outdoor picnic. The search didn’t take long, as the Museum of York County fits the bill to a T.
Directions
A simple search for directions will show that the trip from downtown Rock Hill will take you only a minute. That’s true for the Main Street Children’s Museum, but we want to go to the main museum.
From downtown Rock Hill, the trip north will take about 15 minutes. The simple route takes you from Ebenezer to Celanese to Museum Road to the museum itself.
What to Do
Permanent Exhibits
The permanent exhibits at The Museum of York County heavily feature history, both natural and human. Explore the area as it would have been during the Pleistocene Epoch. You’ll see fossils and recreations of the fascinating creatures that roamed the land then. A little closer to now, but still far removed from our time, The Carolina Piedmont 600 Years Ago and Today shows what the area was like before Europeans arrived on the scene. The Naturalist Center will allow you to learn about nature in the right now. The Settlemyre Planetarium will take you far beyond our own planet. Tot Town is a visit to the playful world of long-time Rock Hill resident and illustrator Vernon Grant (best known for creating the original Snap, Crackle, and Pop).
Changing Exhibits
In addition to the permanent displays, The Museum of York County also hosts a wide range of temporary exhibits. In the fall of 2022, the exhibits include even more Vernon Grant material, this time in an interactive format. The imaginative powers of Rock Hill area school children is on display in the Nature Nook Gallery. Another interactive exhibit will familiarize you with local nature.
Picnic Spot
When you’ve had all the history and illustrations that you can handle but you’re hungry and want a little more nature, take yourself outside to the Nature Trail. You can enjoy your picnic (filled with Coca-Cola products, of course) in the shaded area.