Permanent Exhibits
The Delma & Beverly Presley Gallery
Uncharted Worlds: The Natural History of Georgia’s Coastal Plain
This exhibit transports you through millions of years of dramatic changes to Georgia’s landscape, from an ancient ocean with mosasaurs prowling the seas to forests and prairies with mastodons and mammoths, to the arrival of the first humans, and finally to the coastal plain we know today. Come face-to-face with a mosasaur, Tylosaurus proriger, a 78 million-year-old, 26 foot-long marine reptile, and Georgiacetus vogtlensis, a 41 million-year-old whale, the most primitive whale fossil discovered in North America. You will discover stories of giant sharks, ice age creatures, and research at Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary. Young visitors can “be a paleontologist” and explore the mosasaur inside and out.
The Jack & Addie D. Averitt Gallery
Charted Worlds: The Cultural History of Georgia’s Coastal Plain
As soon as the first humans reached the Coastal Plain approximately 13,000 years ago, they began to adapt to the unique environment, explore its resources and chart paths to create a home. This exhibit highlights important stories of the interactions between cultures and environment that created the distinct traditions and heritage of Georgia’s Coastal Plain. Explore an interactive timeline of regional Native American projectile points and pottery, traditional watercraft (including a dugout canoe and Ogeechee River boat), a rare antebellum cotton gin and turpentining artifacts. These artifacts and more highlight stories of a region defined by agriculture; the brutal system of slavery that long supported it; and the contributions to American art, craft, work, and leisure of the people who transformed it.
Changing Exhibit Gallery
Crack, Boom, Bam: The History of the American Drum Set
Did you know the modern drum set is an American invention? While drums are among the oldest instruments in history, the idea of combining various drums and cymbals into a single kit played by one person originated in the United States.
From Turkish military bands in the 1600s to the “double drumming” technique pioneered by Black American musicians in the late 1800s—and through the evolution of jazz and pop—this exhibition explores the sonic innovations that led to the creation of the modern drum set.
Curated by Dr. Matthew W. Hill, head of the Fred and Dinah Gretsch Collection of Musical Instruments at Georgia Southern University, Crack Boom Bam! takes visitors on a surprising journey that begins with marching rhythms and culminates in rock ’n’ roll.
Exhibits Around Campus & Around Town
Museum on Main
The Museum on Main hosts free annual changing exhibits on the history and culture of Bulloch County and South Georgia developed by graduate students in the Public History Program. Located at the Statesboro Convention and Visitors Bureau at 222 S. Main Street in Statesboro. For hours, call (912) 259-9555.
On exhibit until April 2025:
- The Fight for a Star and a Stripe: The Battle of Brier Creek
- On March 3, 1779, Patriot forces in Georgia were pursuing a retreating British and Loyalist army. The Patriots planned to lead an offensive to recapture Savannah and bring Georgia back under Patriot control. A daring, surprise attack by the British thwarted their plans. The Battle of Brier Creek proved a devastating loss to the American cause. For the rest of the war, Georgia remained mostly under control of the British significantly altering the war in the South. Today, the battlefield, only 35 miles away in Screven County, is a rare Georgia resource to study a major battle of the American Revolution.
Nessmith-Lane Center on the Statesboro Campus
An Inspiring Past, A Promising Future: The Presley Exhibition
Trace the historical transformation of Georgia Southern University from its founding in 1906 through more than a century of struggle and triumph. This free exhibit is located at the Nessmith-Lane Center on the Statesboro Campus at 847 Plant Drive. For hours, call 912-478-5555.