For Immediate Release

Great Circle Earthworks Museum to Reopen May 3
Partnership with the Greater Licking County Convention and Visitors Bureau Gives Public Increased Access to the Site

(Columbus, Ohio, March 27, 2008) - Thanks to a partnership with the Greater Licking County Convention and Visitors Bureau (GLCCVB), the Ohio Historical Society’s majestic Newark Earthworks will once again have a welcome center where visitors can learn more about the Newark Earthworks and the people who built them.

On May 3, the Great Circle Museum reopens with a day full of activities at Great Circle Earthworks (formerly Moundbuilders). Guided tours, flute playing, storytelling and flint-knapping are planned activities throughout the day from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. In addition, there will be an ancient gardening display. Visitors are welcomed to picnic in the shelter house and grounds. Admission to the daylong event is free.

Between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., at The Ohio State University’s Newark Campus, guests are invited to explore exhibits and attend presentations about Newark, Stonehenge and the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon at Teotihuacan given by experts from around the country, including Brad Lepper, curator of archaeology at the Ohio Historical Society.

At 6 p.m., the Great Circle Earthworks Museum officially reopens with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. At 6:30 p.m., Aztec descendants from Teotihuacán will perform a ceremonial dance at the Great Circle Earthworks.

“We’re pleased that the museum can be reopened under this partnership,” said William K. Laidlaw, executive director and CEO for the Ohio Historical Society. “We are optimistic that the arrangement will lead to greater public awareness of the significance of the Newark Earthworks and the human achievement behind their creation 2,000 years ago.”

With this new partnership with GLCCVB, the Great Circle Museum will be open year-round. Late last year, the GLCCVB moved their offices into the Great Circle Museum, which has allowed the museum to be reopened to the public for the first time since it was closed in the summer of 2004 due to budget cuts. The museum and visitor’s center is located at 455 Hebron Road, State Route 79 in Heath, Ohio.

Susan Fryer, GLCCVB executive director, said “As a visitors bureau we are very excited to partner with The Ohio Historical Society and to get the museum up and running again. We have been tenants in the building since late November and the number of visitors we get to talk with in person has increased significantly.”

Last year, the museum underwent $186,000 in renovations that included a new roof, a heating and ventilation system upgrade, accessible restrooms, renovated space for exhibits, office space for the GLCCVB, handicapped access and a new entrance vestibule.

Visitors to the Great Circle Museum are invited to watch an interactive video explaining the significance of the site and tour a 1,000-square-foot exhibit that includes a timeline of Ohio’s ancient cultures. The exhibit also details how features of the earthworks align with the rising and setting of the moon. Following the museum tour, visitors can take self-guided tours of the grounds during daylight hours.

“It is an honor to work at a 2,000-year-old site and to have a chance to help promote the Newark Earthworks, the State of Ohio's Prehistoric Monument along with all of the other wonderful attractions and destinations we have to offer in Licking County,” Fryer said. “We are looking forward to a very busy summer.”

For those who cannot attend the May 3 activities at the Great Circle Earthworks, an open house is scheduled the following day, May 4, at the Octagon Earthworks. From noon to 4 p.m., visitors can learn more about the people that built the Newark Earthworks through guided tours and lectures. Additional Octagon Earthworks open-house dates are scheduled for April 13–14 and Oct. 19, which also includes lectures, displays and tours.

Admission to the Great Circle Museum and Earthworks is free. The museum and visitor’s center summer hours will be May 3 – Oct. 15, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. It will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day. From Oct. 16, 2008–March 30, 2009, the museum will be open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

The Great Circle Earthworks are part of the Newark Earthworks, a complex that is 2,000 years old and at one time covered approximately four square miles. Scholars recognize it as the largest geometric earthworks ever created. Although much of it has been destroyed by more than a century of urban development, the most significant parts remaining are the Octagon, Great Circle and Wright earthworks. Currently, the sites are being considered for the World Heritage List, which recognizes natural and cultural sites of significance to all peoples of the world.

For more information about Newark Earthworks and upcoming events, contact site manager Jim Kingery at 740.344.1919/800.600.7178 or contact the GLCCVB at 800-589-8224.

The GLCCVB offers travel-related products and services to assist visitors in Licking County. To find out more about their services, visit www.lccvb.com.

The Newark Earthworks is one of 59 sites operated by the Ohio Historical Society, a nonprofit organization that serves as the state’s partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio’s history, natural history and archaeology. For more information about membership, programs and events, call 614.297.2300/800.686.6124 or visit www.ohiohistory.org.

Thank you for your interest in the Ohio Historical Society!