The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Priceless Gem Tours

The Visitors’ Center offers tours in the “Priceless Gem Series,” (which takes its name from a line in the UNC alma mater “Hark the Sound”) on selected Fridays at 3 p.m. Tours start from the UNC Visitors’ Center, located inside Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, 250 E. Franklin St., and typically last 1-1.5 hours.

University experts lead these distinctive walking tours on various topics.

Update:  The True Blue Bucket List tour on June 10 from 1 to 5 p.m. will be a fascinating walking and bus tour of Carolina and Chapel Hill.  In partnership with the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill, the UNC Visitors' Center offers the tour to a limited number of people.  Tickets are $75 per person before May 31 and $85 thereafter.  Proceeds will support the society.  Reserve your spot.

Here is the schedule for the tours:

• February 24 Black and Blue.  UNC’s historical landmarks in context of UNC’s racial history with UNC Visitors’ Center student staff and guide, Tori Darby, UNC Class of 2013
• March 16 Archaeology tour. Meg Kassabaum, research assistant, Research Labs of Archaeology
• March 23 The Noble Grove: A Walking Tour of Trees with Jill Coleman, UNC landscape architect, and Tom Bythell, UNC campus forest manager
• March 30 Architectural tour with Wendy Hillis, UNC historic preservationis
• April 13 Coker Arboretum with Grant Parkins, NC Botanical Garden natural science educator
• April 20 Super Tour Days. Carolina Classic campus tour on the hour, EVERY HOUR, 9 am–4 pm.

Tours during 2011 included:

• Coker Arboretum, led by natural science educator, N.C. Botanical Garden
• Carolina classic historical tour, led by Missy Julian-Fox, Visitors’ Center director
• The Noble Grove: A Walking Tour of Trees
• Sustainability tour, led by Cindy Shea, director of the UNC Sustainability Office, and UNC student EcoReps
• A Walk Down Franklin Street with Stephen Rich, Chapel Hill Preservation Society
• Archaeology tour, led by Meg Kassabaum, research assistant, Research Labs of Archaeology
• Architecture, led by Wendy Hillis, UNC historic preservationist.

UNC Visitors’ Center contact: Missy Julian Fox, (919) 962-1630, mjfox@unc.edu. Please call in the case of inclement weather to make sure the tour is on.

University Operator: (919) 962-2211 | © 2012 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |