Eastern Grey Squirrel sitting on vehicle tire.

Squirrels love chewing car wires. Here’s why — and how to get them to stop

May 9, 2023

By Kimberly Catauedella, News & Observer The latest in our Asked & Answered series, in which we answer questions from the community, looks into car damage by rodents — specifically squirrels. Apex resident Donna Provance let us know she and her longtime partner Erik Lechak dealt with squirrel-inflicted damage to their 2001 Ford Ranger last… Read More >


Granite boulder with "North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences" engraved on its face.

NC Science Museums Grant Program application period opened for 2023-24

May 1, 2023

By Darrell D. Stover, Head of North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program The competitive North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program is one of the many ways that the State of North Carolina invests in sustaining and advancing one of the most diverse and widespread networks of science museums in the country. These museums are critical… Read More >


Falls crayfish

Only in North Carolina: Two new species of crayfish discovered

April 20, 2023

Falls crayfish (Cambarus burchfielae). Photo: Mike Perkins. Click to enlarge. [RALEIGH, N.C.] — Tucked into the niches of neighboring streams, each draining off the Blue Ridge Mountains, reside two new species of crayfish found in North Carolina and nowhere else on the planet. Meet Cambarus lapidosus, aka the Stony Fork crayfish, named after a small tributary… Read More >


A piece of plastic debris that's been colonized by both coastal barnacles (pink and striped) and a gooseneck barnacle from the open ocean.

This floating ocean garbage is home to a surprising amount of life from the coasts

April 18, 2023

A piece of plastic debris that’s been colonized by both coastal barnacles (pink and striped) and a gooseneck barnacle from the open ocean. Photo: Linsey Haram/SERC Marine Invasions Lab. By Nell Greenfieldboyce, WUNC Scientists studying a giant collection of plastic trash floating in the middle of the open ocean have found some unexpected inhabitants: dozens… Read More >


NC DNCR Secretary Reid Wilson gives remarks at the opening of the NC Science Trail at Prairie Ridge Ecostation.

NC Science Trail offers hands-on learning at 60 sites

April 14, 2023

By Rick Armstrong, WRAL photojournalist RALEIGH, N.C. — Tuesday was the launch of the NC Science Trail, a year-round digital guidebook to the state’s science adventures. The purpose is to spark science exploration across the state. Right in the heart of busy west Raleigh are 42 acres is Prairie Ridge Ecostation part of the statewide… Read More >