North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is the oldest established museum in North Carolina and one of the state’s most famous museums.

The Museum was created in 1879, by combining two state-owned collections of geologic and agricultural specimens.

In the 1950s and 1990s, shifts in educational policies expanded the Museum’s holdings as universities donated their collections to the state.

The collection now contains more than 1.7 million specimens of amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, mammals, invertebrates, invertebrate and vertebrate fossils, plants, geology, and meteorites.

The Museum has four facilities on three campuses:

The Nature Exploration Center – downtown Raleigh
The Nature Research Center – downtown Raleigh
The Prairie Ridge Ecostation satellite facility – northwest Raleigh near William B. Umstead State Park
The former North Carolina Museum of Forestry – Whiteville

Samples of various types of stone from around North Carolina

The Museum hosts several special events throughout the year, including Groundhog Day, on February 2. Groundhog Day is a favorite American tradition derived from a Pennsylvania Dutch superstition.

The tradition states that if a groundhog emerging from its burrow on this day sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den, and winter will persist for six more weeks, but if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early.

The Museum also hosts BugFest, which is a festival devoted to insects, held in mid-September.

Highlights of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

Natural Treasures of North Carolina – dioramas of various wildlife and artifacts from North Carolina
Coastal North Carolina – exhibits of fish native to North Carolina’s coast and waterways
Mountains to the Sea – displays North Carolina’s natural habitats from the western mountains on to the Coastal Plain
Underground – features gems and minerals as well as ground, soil, and seismic displays.
Nature’s Explorers – an exhibit of the tools and techniques naturalists used 100 years ago to collect and preserve specimens
Prehistoric North Carolina – chronicles prehistoric life in the southeastern United States
Terror of the South – the exhibit features fossil skeletons, including an Acrocanthosaurus
Tropical Connections – highlights the climate regions of the Earth and their environmental issues
Arthropod Zoo – exhibits of the insects, crustaceans, arachnids and other arthropods
Living Conservatory – an exhibit with various live plants and animals, including butterflies and a two-toed sloth
The Nature Research Center – provides hands-on activities and scientists working in research laboratories
Prairie Ridge Ecostation – an outdoor facility that includes Piedmont prairie, forest, ponds, and a stream
Whiteville Facility – exhibits and programs on the preservation of natural and human-made materials that demonstrate the relationship of forests and people