Hilton Head Island is a unique place, which features both beauty in its environment and a history of human occupation dating back thousands of years. The Coastal Discovery Museum on Hilton Head Island, has interpreted this region for over a decade - taking guests, students and islanders into the environment to explain the area's history and ecology.

Through teaching about the delicate balance between man and nature, the museum provides residents and guests with a sense of place.

The Coastal Discovery Museum educates, entertains, recreates, re-enacts, and tells the stories that define the area. Guests and residents can experience the wonders of the island through hands-on learning, demonstrations and seeing plants and animals in their natural habitats - all by way of programs offered by the museum.

Keeping in mind the preservation and conservation of the area, the museum teaches a variety of topics that often overlap: Barrier Island Formation, Salt Marsh, Maritime Forest, Wetlands, Ocean, Pre-History, Plantation Life, the Civil War, Gullah Culture, Hunting Clubs, and Modern Development. Within each of these areas, the interrelationship between man and his environment cannot be ignored.

During the summer months the museum will have programs with alligators, reptiles and amphibians, birds, a puppeteer and storyteller, as well as basket weaving and woven bracelets from natural items found on the island.

For more information, visit www.coastaldiscovery.org.