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Exhibit Designers

Curator of Exhibits Rolland Hower

Rolland Hower, former Chief of Natural History Exhibits for the Smithsonian Institution, is the principal designer of the exhibits for the Grandfather Mountain Nature Museum.

A scientist and one-time CIA agent, Hower first came to Grandfather Mountain in the late 1950s to design exhibits for the cases located in the Swinging Bridge Visitor Center. In his years with the Smithsonian, Hower developed the process for freeze-drying plant material and designed the display for the Hope diamond.

Paul Marchand
During his lifetime, the late Paul Marchand of Buffalo, New York, was the world's leading creator of artificial plant life. Only the Buffalo Museum contains more of his work than the Grandfather Mountain Nature Museum.

Marchand's creations were fashioned from wax using a complicated process in which the original specimens were consumed. He learned his craft from his father who was a famous jewelry maker, but it was Paul that developed the technique for creating museum displays.

Although some artists expressed interest in learning Marchand's techniques, no student ever completed the apprenticeship.

Jack Hanahan
Jack Hanahan, former Professor of Geology at Belmont Abbey College, scoured the state looking for superlative specimens of minerals and gems for this exhibit. Hanahan's efforts resulted in the assembly of what is considered the best collection of North Carolina minerals to be found.

The display contains some 62 different species of minerals (350 specimens in all) including crystals of the state's famed emeralds and rubies and the largest amethyst ever found in North America. He says in addition that the collection features the finest group of Tar Heel gold specimens exhibited anywhere.

Professor Hanahan obtained the specimens from some of the best collections of North Carolina minerals, as well as from other institutions, and the names of many of them appear on the display labels. The Grandfather Mountain exhibit is considered important because of its coverage of the state's exceptional diversity of minerals, and because it contains items from many of the historic mines and quarries, most of which no longer exist.

John White
John White, former Curator of Gems and Minerals for the Smithsonian Institution, visited in the summer of 1999 to review the Grandfather Mountain gem collection and tighten the focus of the items on display. White is one of the leading authorities on gems and minerals in the world.

Richard Evans Younger
Famed wildlife artist Richard Evans Younger of Blowing Rock painted the detailed watercolor of Daniel Boone in the Nature Museum.

The only known picture of Daniel Boone is one sketched by James Audubon at the end of Boone's life. In order to picture Boone as he would have looked carving his name on a tree in 1775, Younger needed to take 40 years off Boone's features as they appeared in the Audubon painting.

To capture Boone's physical stature, Younger used the region's most beloved Daniel Boone as a model. Glenn Causey, star of the Horn In The West outdoor drama, was the model for the body posture of the pioneer hero.

Although historians will tell you that Boone would have worn a felt hat and never a coon-skin cap....exhibit designers gave way to folklore and opted instead to represent Boone as most visitors would have imagined him.

Bill Chrisman
Woodcarver Bill Chrisman of Rocky Mount, Virginia, created lifelike carvings of many of the most recognizable native North Carolina songbirds. A special showcase allows visitors to view the birds from all sides so they can appreciate the beauty and detail in the carvings.

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