The Schiele Museum of Natural History is one of the best natural history museums in the Carolina Piedmont, with exhibits on the regional geology, wildlife, and Native American cultures of the Southeast. The centerpiece is a life-size replica of a Catawba Indian village, which occupied this river country for thousands of years before European settlement. Full-size reconstructed frontier buildings and a living history area round out the outdoor exhibits.
Inside, the natural history halls cover Piedmont wildlife, fossil collections, and an impressively mounted big game collection assembled over decades. The planetarium shows are popular with school groups and worth attending if you time your visit right. Located on East Garrison Boulevard, about 4 km east of downtown — you will need a car to get there.
story: "The museum is named for Joseph H. Schiele, a Gastonia textile businessman and avid naturalist who donated his collection of mounted wildlife specimens in 1961. What started as a small community museum has since expanded into a regional natural history center, but the original Schiele collection remains its foundation."