Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, Tennessee, United States

5KMW-FL 5:00 PM Oct 19, 2022

History and Beauty
We decided to visit Townsend just for this site. The Museum is filled with history from the Native American Gallery to the reconstructed log cabin by the Barnwood Builders. At different times, they do have interactive programs with living history interpreters in the wheelwright shop, or cooking over an open hearth (none the day we visited) . There is also a primitive village included in the fee to enter (I think about 13 buildings) that is a self guided tour. They have some buildings out front which are free to enter. And we missed a concert while we were there which they have on Friday nights. Tickets have to be purchased in advance. We enjoy history and was glad we made this stop. The staff is very friendly and helpful and pleased to answer questions. They do have a nice gift shop.

4Pam W 5:00 PM Jan 26, 2022

It was ok for the most part
We went here on a field trip…The experience itself was awesome…we learned some things we didn’t know about our Ancestors(the Cherokee) and the settlers that moved here, the admission was fair for what is offered, the gift shop is quaint, the history of the buildings and the buildings themselves are amazing BUT one of the women who work there is incredibly rude. The bus had gotten stuck and picked up the kids a little late. So, from the start this lady(Beth) was aggravated with our group and you could tell with her tone and her body language. She was not nice to the kids and was quite rude to most of us adults when we would ask questions. The kids made these ‘Indian Story Bead Bracelets’ and they were supposed to use only the amount of beads equal to their age. Well, we have several kids that are on the spectrum and they did not understand and when we attempted to explain to HER that they had intellectual disabilities she immediately interrupted us and was like ‘there are rules for reasons’…well we understand that however be a little bit more calmer and don’t grab at them bc most of them do not like to be touched. Then we took a bathroom break and she comes walking over and tried to tell us that each kid had to be escorted into the bathroom one at a time. HOW?! And then she immediately says ‘they need to stay out of the gift shop unless they are going out to the bus or are with an adult’ you have to go through the gift shop to get in and out of the building, to go to the bathroom, and to get into the exhibit. Other than her it was awesome. The gentlemen who talked to us about the other exhibits were extremely nice and kind and very informative. We did not see a show or any performance that they offer.