Slaves often looked to the sky to find their way to the North and to freedom. During black history month, programs at two area organizations will focus on the astronomy and history of slaves in South Carolina.

“I love that we can connect science and history,” said Elizabeth Laney, park interpreter at Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site in Beech Island, S.C., which has two history programs in February.

From 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Redcliffe will offer a screening of the DVD, Shared History, plus tours of the slave cabins on the site of former South Carolina Gov. James Henry Hammond’s plantation. The DVD focuses on the descendants of the slaves of a close friend of Hammond, William Gillamore Simms, who had a plantation in Bamberg, S.C. Then on Feb. 22, Redcliffe will present another program called the African- American Experience which will focus more on the lives of the slaves who once lived on Redcliffe and the other plantations Hammond owned.

Laney said there are records of 53 slaves attempting to escape Hammond’s plantations. When escaping, slaves used the Big Dipper also called the Drinking Gourd to locate the North Star and use as a compass to head to freedom in Canada.

Each Saturday in February, the DuPont Planetarium will feature an astronomy presentation called Follow the Drinking Gourd. The program will be at 7 and 8 p.m. each Saturday.

Admission to Redcliffe is $6 for adults and $4 for children under 16. Admission to the planetarium is $4.50 for adults and $2.50 for students. When a patron attends one performance at one location, the person will receive a $1 discount for use at the other site.

Laney said the February program at Redcliffe serves as a kickoff for a year’s worth of programs about the slaves and other African-Americans who later worked as paid servants in the Hammond household.The Hammond family lived in the residence from 1859 to 1973 when Time Magazine editor and Hammond descendant, John Shaw Billings, left it to the state of South Carolina in his will.

To learn more about Redcliffe, call (803) 827-1473; for the planetarium, call (803) 641-3769.