Legendary flying turtle lands at Museum for First Friday
February 21 , 2007
RALEIGH -- When a nuclear explosion in the far north unleashes Gamera, the legendary flying turtle, from his sleep under the ice, it's up to the scientists to put a stop to the rampage. Don't miss the action of "Daikaiju Gamera," the latest sci-fi epic to come out of its shell at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh, showing at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 2. Free. This movie could turn even Tar Heel and Wolfpack faithful into terrapin fans.
In the early 1960s, Toho studio ruled movie-making in Japan with their signing of Godzilla. Financially desperate Daiei studio had to come up with something that would compete. They asked director Noriaki Yuasa to make "Dai gunju Nezura" ("The Great Rat Swarm"), which was to use real rats crawling over miniature models of cities. But the rats, and soon the entire studio, had fleas. With the rats out of the picture, Yuasa had to come up with something else to destroy the mini-cities. After the studio chief joked about a giant flying turtle, Yuasa turned it into "Daikaiju (The Giant Monster) Gamera," a surprise smash hit that became the first real box-office challenger to Godzilla.
The Museum stays open till 9 p.m. Come early for live music with Smokehouse, featuring members of Hercules Mulligan (Celtic/Bluegrass) and Old Habits (Bluegrass/Newgrass). You can also enjoy snacks and beverages from the Acro Café. Additionally, the Museum Store offers after-hours shopping and a new exhibit showcasing amazing photographs of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, in the Nature Art Gallery.
The Museum of Natural Sciences is located in downtown Raleigh at 11 West Jones Street. Parking is available on the street and in surface lots along Wilmington and Edenton streets. For more information, contact Steve Popson at 919-733-7450, ext. 379.
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications, and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 am to 5 pm, and Sun., noon to 5 pm. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the Web at naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary.
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