During your visit to this Ashland, Kentucky attraction, explore permanent and temporary exhibits about the history and heritage of Kentucky. Be sure to stop by the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center Gift Shop to browse Kentucky souvenirs.
Exhibits
Early Kentucky
Start your visit to the history museum in Early Kentucky. This exhibit explores the Native American cultures and the first white explorers to enter Kentucky landscape.
Digging Deeper
Digging Deeper is an interactive exhibit that will provide you with a closer look at Kentucky’s past. Become an archaeologist and uncover replicas of animal bones and other artifacts that reveal information about the early settlements of the area, step into a time before European explorers arrived when both animals and people shared the Ohio River Valley, or see a Native American village.
Country Music Heritage Hall
12 local musicians whose careers have brought national acclaim are highlighted in the Country Music Heritage Hall. Learn about stars like Keith Whitley, Loretta Lynn, the Judds, and Miley Cyrus and her father Billy Ray. Stop by the Music Quilt and compose your own song. Country Music Heritage Hall’s Country Music on Television display examines music stars from around Boyd County who have their own television show.
School Daze
Step into a 19th century one room schoolhouse. In the School Daze exhibit you can dress in clothes of the era, become a teacher or student from the 1870s and learn about the days when there was one teacher and all grades learned together in a single classroom.
C.I. Haeberle Medical Exhibit
Learn about medicine in Ashland over the years. In the C.I. Haeberle Medical Exhibit you can examine centuries old medical equipment, see the ads and products from drugstores in the area, weigh yourself the way doctors do and learn how to tie your arm in a sling.
William E. Martin Military Exhibit
See what it was like for the men who served and supported major wars in US history. As you make your way through the William E. Martin Military Exhibit, artifact displays interpret how wars throughout history affected Ashland and the surrounding area.
Aqua Zone
Discover ocean life. Aqua Zone features a 210 gallon fish tank that is home to fish native to the Ohio River, including the rock bass, spotted sucker, and green and red sunfish.
The Legacy of Jean Thomas
Learn about the legacy of Jean Thomas. This exhibit looks at the venue created by Jean Thomas to give mountain musicians an opportunity to be heard before the days of the Country Music Highway.
Discovery Canyon
Explore Discovery Canyon. This walk-through, crawl-through cave examines the impact that people have had on caves from prehistory to today and deciphers the rock art that ancient peoples have left behind.
Support Ashland and Kentucky history in the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center Gift Shop. From mugs to magnets, key chains to Kentucky-made jellies, jams and preserves, Highlands Museum and Discovery Center Gift Shop carries an assortment of products related to the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center, Ashland and Kentucky.
Travel Tips
- In addition to its permanent exhibits, the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center regularly hosts temporary exhibits that celebrate Kentucky’s past, explores its present and enriches its future.
- The Highlands Museum and Discovery Center is ADA compliant.