North Carolina Museum of Natural Science

If you want somewhere free to take your family for an afternoon of educational fun, I highly recommend the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science in Raleigh.  Whether you're considering a move to the Triangle area, or you're a life-long resident, this museum has a lot to offer, with its  captivating approach to understanding the mysteries of geography, geology, plants and animals as a "window on the world."

You can't miss the museum - its green glass rounded roof and sprawling building are easy to spot on Bicentennial Plaza in downtown Raleigh, between the Capitol and Legislature building, at the corner of Jones and Salisbury streets at 11 West Jones Street.

Every time we mention going to the Museum of Natural Science, the kids get excited. They absolutely love the displays, including both living and real-life-looking wildlife, grasses, rocks, pictures - even a 20-foot high indoor waterfall - and plenty of hands-on interaction available on four floors of a perfect architectural layout of free-flowing hallways, open space and exhibits.

The main entrance leads to a soaring hallway of exhibits, with a theater off to the left showing featured films. 

In addition to the core exhibits - including giant dinosaur relics, one of the world's most outstanding displays of great whale skeletons and, yes, even bugs and snakes (that the kids appreciate a lot more than I do)  the Raleigh Museum of Natural Science has special exhibits every few months (though the museum is free, some of the special exhibits have a fee).

When we visited a couple of days ago, we saw Willo, the world's only dinosaur with a fossilized heart,along with a real Acrocanthosaurus skeleton. A while back there was a special CSI (how bugs can reveal criminals) exhibit. And we've heard that the Dead Sea Scrolls will be coming sometime later this year.

But that's not all. The North Carolina Museum of Natural Science also offers special presentations and movies about Wilderness North Carolina (currently featuring Planet Earth: From Pole to Pole and Weird Nature: Fantastic Feeding.) 

There are lots of opportunities for Raleigh kids to sit and learn at Storytime (for little children) or Meet the Animals, complete with live animals (everything from alligators to opossums.)

Recent science discoveries are probed in yet more classroom-type discussions, where museum educators present topics fresh from today's news, like global warming.

Even outside its walls, the Raleigh Museum of Natural Science is having a huge impact on North Carolina.

It sponsors"Exploring North Carolina," a localized, science-based program about ecosystems, geology, rivers, weather patterns, fauna and flora, as well as early explorers and natives from the Age of Discovery - nominated for an Emmy, which airs on UNC television. You can find the current season's schedule at Exploring North Carolina.  A new grant is making it possible for specific episodes of the program to be available for students to view at North Carolina middle and secondary public schools at no cost.

The museum is also heavily involved in scientific research that goes far beyond the fascinating displays we enjoy so much. They work hand-in-hand with state and federal agencies, international organizations and local universities including Duke University, North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and North Carolina Central University.

If you're coming to visit, don't miss the gems on the first flooror the dinosaurs on the fourth floor! And if you're hungry, there's even a café just down the hallway, offering lots of nutritious and inexpensive choices.

Best of all, not only is the museum free, it's also open all week long, from 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 pm on Sunday. And on the first Friday of every month, the museum is open until 9!

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