Highlands Museum and Discovery Center, Heritage center in Ashland, Kentucky, United States
The Highlands Museum and Discovery Center is a heritage center in a converted department store building with multiple floors in downtown Ashland. Its spaces house local history exhibits, interactive science displays, and historical items from the region.
The facility began in 1984 as Kentucky Highlands Museum in Mayo Mansion and moved in 1994 to the repurposed C.H. Parsons Department Store Building downtown. This relocation allowed the museum to expand its space and improve its exhibition capabilities for its collections.
The center displays 19th-century classrooms, local music heritage, and artifacts from the region. These exhibits give visitors a sense of how people in Eastern Kentucky lived and shaped their community.
Visitors should navigate carefully between the multiple floors and allow adequate time to explore all areas. It helps to ask at the entrance about current exhibits and any special activities happening during your visit.
A standout feature is Little Joe, an actual riverboat that visitors can board in the Poage's Landing exhibit. This interactive recreation of a historical riverside town along the Ohio River lets guests experience what river work was like in earlier times.
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