“Collecting for the Community,” a new exhibit at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center, opened June 7 and will be available for public viewing in the museum’s gallery B through Aug. 17.

During the years, the Mountain Heritage Center’s collections have been enriched by numerous gifts from residents of Western North Carolina who have been willing to share their families’ heirlooms and history with the public. Those donations range from entire collections, such as Haywood County dairy farmer Albert J. McCracken’s family who contributed a collection of 3,000 Native American artifacts, as well as more than 500 objects relating to the 18th and 19th century Southern Appalachian settlers, to single objects like a Catamount mascot costume worn on the WCU campus in the late 1950s. The museum’s collections now total more than 10,000 objects, including artifacts such as prehistoric projectile points, modern Cherokee crafts, logging tools, moonshine stills, quilts, coverlets, saddles and firearms.

The Mountain Heritage Center, open to the public free of charge, is located on the ground floor of WCU’s H.F. Robinson Administration Building. Visiting hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, but the museum is open until 7 p.m. on Thursdays.

828.227.7129 or www.wcu.edu/mhc.