PRESTONSBURG — Before bulldozers, cranes and other modern construction equipment was available for use, ancient cultures found other ways to build impressive structures in the Ohio Valley, some of which still survive today.

The Eastern Kentucky Science Center, in conjunction with the Cincinnati Museum Center will be unveiling an exhibit Jan. 26 to display several of the remaining structures built by these ancient civilizations at 39 different locations in the Ohio Valley. The exhibit, entitled "Earthworks: Virtual Explorations of the Ancient Ohio Valley," will be open to the public through May 6 and will include topographic models, virtual artifact kiosks and virtual reconstructions of earthworks that are still standing.

Earthworks, which are constructions or works of art designed by modifying a portion of land, were constructed by native cultures that lived in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia between eight and 24 centuries ago. Included in the exhibit will be earthworks made by the Adena, Hopewell and Fort Ancient cultures.

The exhibit is part of a traveling exhibit from the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal. The reconstruction of the ancient cultures for the exhibit is the end result of 10 years of work by a team of architects, archaeologists, historians, technical experts and Native Americans working for the museum. Much of the exhibit will be navigable through a system of interactive videos put together by the Center for the Electronic Reconstruction of Historical and Archaeological Sites.

A large portion of the Ohio Valley's ancient architecture was destroyed long before any record of it could be made. The purpose of the exhibit is to preserve the history of the region and to give people a glimpse into what ancient societies were able to accomplish without the use of modern tools and technology.

Included in the exhibit will be artifacts recovered at the excavation of the C&O Mounds in Paintsville in Johnson County in the mid-1930s. Photographs of the discovery and several of the Adena culture artifacts found at the site will also be on display.