The Coastal Discovery Museum held a grand opening on Sept. 29, 2016 for donors who supported a new $400,000 Discovery Lab at the museum.
At this event, they announced the building was named in honor of Tom Peeples. It recognized his foresight in preserving Historic Honey Horn. He developed a successful public-private partnership between the Coastal Discovery Museum and the Town of Hilton Head Island.
“Tom recognized that this property showed what the island was like before it was developed,” Rex Garniewicz, CEO of the Coastal Discovery Museum, said. “The oldest homes on the Island, magnificent live oaks and ancient cedars, beautiful wide-open fields that harken back to the days when Hilton Head Island was a quiet farming community. He helped shape the museum’s commitment to protecting and preserving Honey Horn. It as an irreplaceable historic, environmental and cultural resource. We hope to inspire students to care for the Lowcountry and take an active role in its preservation.”
Support from the local community for this project was tremendous.
It received major grants from the following associations:
- The Van Landingham Rotary
- The Community Foundation of the Lowcountry
- The Heritage Classic Foundation, Women in Philanthropy
- The Women’s Association of Hilton Head Island
- And over 130 individual donors.
The Tom Peeples Discovery Lab serves over 8,000 individual students who visit for school programs every year. The museum and its 68-acre property are open to residents and visitors year-round, free of charge.
Founded in 1985, the Coastal Discovery Museum opened their facility at Honey Horn in the fall of 2007.
A Town of Hilton Head Island property, Honey Horn is home to several of Hilton Head Island’s oldest buildings. Since their grand opening, the museum has expanded its offerings of programs and doubled the number of students that participate. These programs include “Sea Turtles, by Land and By Sea” and the “Natural History and Archeology of Beer.”
The museum hosts numerous special events and festivals, such as the Italian Heritage Festival. It is located at 70 Honey Horn Dr. on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. For more information, go to coastaldiscovery.org.
