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North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
The
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh opened its
new $70.5 million facility on April 7-8, 2000 with the first 24-hour grand
opening in the state's history. The seven-story, 200,000-square-foot facility
is the Southeast’s largest natural history museum.
Exciting interactive exhibits and dioramas showcase North Carolina’s rich natural history and global connections. Exhibits include Terror of the South, North Carolina’s Natural Treasures, Coastal North Carolina, Mountains to the Sea, Prehistoric North Carolina, the Arthropod Zoo, Tropical Connections and the Living Conservatory. A hands-on Discovery Room serves families, while the Naturalist Center provides specimens and resources for natural science study. The Acro Café and Museum Store are open seven days a week.
The Museum of Natural Sciences, founded in 1879, is the only science museum in North Carolina with a full-time research staff. Its research collections, some over a century old, exceed one million specimens. The museum’s scientists maintain the state’s zoological collections; conduct primary research in the natural sciences; collaborate on research projects with area universities, state and federal agencies and international organizations; and interpret natural history to the public.
In recent years, the Museum has renewed its emphasis on research. A modern, climate-controlled lab and collections facility opened in 1998. New curators have come aboard, from diverse backgrounds at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Smithsonian, the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences, and other institutions. Director of Research and Collections Stephen D. Busack supervises a staff of 21 research curators and technicians, as well as about 11 part-time technicians.
The Museum’s curators of paleontology, Dale Russell and Vince Schneider, are conducting research in the state, focusing on hard-to-find dinosaur fossils. With the aid of Friends of the Museum, a nonprofit support group, coveted specimens have been purchased for the exhibit in the new Museum, including Willo, the Thescelosaurus with a fossilized heart, and Acrocanthosaurus, the only one of its kind displayed anywhere in the world.
The Museum is a leader in informal science education. Through hands-on, multi-sensory programs in the Museum, in schools, and in the field, the Museum provides individuals opportunities for direct experiences with nature. About 500,000 people are expected to visit the Museum of Natural Sciences and participate in Museum educational programs this year.
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences website - www.naturalsciences.org