City Focus on Charleston, West Virginia | StudentGroupTourmagazine.com

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Photo: West Virginia Department of Commerce
Governor’s Mansion

City Focus on Charleston

From the December 15, 2011 Issue of Student Group Tour Magazine

As West Virginia’s capital, Charleston’s history, scenery and attractions make it a diverse place to visit. Charleston includes the State Capitol, Governor’s Mansion and a state museum — all offering free admission and tours. The city is also home to the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences of West Virginia, Appalachian Power Park minor-league baseball stadium, the University of Charleston, Heritage Towers Museum & Culture Center, boutiques, shops, bookstores, coffeehouses, restaurants and plenty more for students to experience — including outdoor recreation across the Kanawha River Valley.

(800) 733-5469
www.charlestonwv.com

Baseball plus

Charleston’s 4,500-seat, 14-luxury-suite Appalachian Power Park is home to the West Virginia Power, a Class A South Atlantic League affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates. The $23 million stadium opened in April 2005 in downtown Charleston, and it includes dimensions of 400 feet to center, 340 feet down the line in left field and 320 feet in right field. Group rates are available for groups of 20 or more, and other special packages are possible. Among the Power’s promotions are special events and a concert series.

(304) 344-2287
www.wvpower.com

Arts, sciences showplace

Discover the world of music, theater, the arts and sciences at Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences of West Virginia. The 240,000-square-foot facility includes Juliet Museum of Art, which hosts permanent and temporary exhibits in its 26,550 square feet of space; ElectricSky Theater planetarium; science galleries including Milton Gardner’s Earth City, Gizmo Factory, Kidspace and Milan Explore-atory; Clark Performance Place; Avampato the Discovery Museum, with exhibits created by Columbus, Ohio-based COSI Center of Science & Industry; 1,883-seat Maier Foundation Performance Hall; Walker Theater; Douglas V. Reynolds Intermezzo Café; and a 25-foot-tall, three-section kinetic sculpture by George Rhoads. Group tours, packages and rates are available.

(304) 561-3570
www.theclaycenter.org

Photo: West Virginia Department of Commerce
Wildflowers, wildlife

Wildflowers, wildlife

Located seven miles southwest of Charleston, the 9,300-acre Kanawha State Forest offers hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and horseback riding possibilities. Its natural habitat includes diverse wildflower and bird populations — with 19 species of warblers drawing birders from as distant as Canada. Camping is also available, with a fully-equipped campground and campsite reservations from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekends. Among its activities and events are interpretive hikes.

(304) 558-3500
www.kanawhastateforest.com

Sharing the heritage

The West Virginia State Museum, located on the grounds of the State Capitol, relates the state’s story in a 23,000-square-foot facility with educational exhibits and a pathway sharing the state’s chronological history. Its discovery rooms provide an opportunity to learn more about the state, and feature artifacts, works of art, music and film clips. Its connections rooms dig deeper into state history and culture with interactive stations. The museum is adjacent to the companion West Virginia Cultural Center and West Virginia Archives and History Library, which showcase the state’s artistic, cultural, historic and literary heritage and are located in the same building. Tours are available through the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.

(304) 558-0162
www.wvculture.org/museum/State-Museum-Index.html

State Capitol

West Virginia is one of two states created during the Civil War, and is the only state to form by seceding from a Confederate state (Virginia). Learn about that history at the West Virginia State Capitol complex. The state Capitol’s 293-foot gold dome caps the state government building — and was designed by the same person who did the U.S. Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Governor’s Mansion is a Georgian Revival-style home that opened in 1925. Guided tours of the State Capitol and Governor’s Mansion are available through the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.

(304) 558-4839
(800) 225-5982
www.wvculture.org/agency

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