Melissa Dowland shows off one of the Neuse river waterdogs she and the Waterdog Warrior Workshop participants trapped, marked and released as part of a study.

Waterdog Warriors

December 30, 2022

By Melissa Dowland, NCMNS Manager of Teacher Education Beneath the reflected branches of riparian trees in the tinted waterways of Wake and Johnston County, something slimy lurks. Hiding beneath rocks and fallen trees, in places you’d likely spare no second thought for, lives one of North Carolina’s most unusual animals. Neuse River waterdogs are aquatic… Read More >


Elephant herd in Zambia.

NC Zoo and NC Museum of Natural Sciences project wins Conservation Tech Award

December 21, 2022

[RALEIGH, N.C.] — MoveApps, a platform for analyzing animal tracking data, has been named a winner of the Conservation Technology Award by EarthRanger. The award honors initiatives that use technology to make a positive impact in biodiversity conservation. High-tech tracking tags are putting more data than ever before into the hands of scientists. But giant… Read More >


Dr. Lily Hughes with a sharptail mola recovered from North Topsail Beach. The fish is lying in a blue pool.

Big fish tale: 450-pound sharptail mola washed up on North Topsail Beach

December 13, 2022

Dr. Lily Hughes with the sharptail mola recovered last week. Photo: Gabriela Hogue/NCMNS. An unusual find last week along the eastern North Carolina coast has captured the fascination of many, and, in particular, ichthyologists with N.C. State and a North Carolina museum. Lily Hughes with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences studies the evolution… Read More >


YES Resilience: SEE Solutions participants, courtesy of UNC-CH Institute for the Environment

NCMNS and UNC’s Institute for the Environment continue youth climate program partnership after $2.3 million NSF award

November 17, 2022

YES Resilience: SEE Solutions participants, courtesy of UNC-CH Institute for the Environment. The Center for Public Engagement with Science in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institute for the Environment received the award for a new program focused on cultivating resilience to climate impacts, such as flooding and extreme heat, by educating and… Read More >


Yellow Brain Tremella, a jelly fungus.

A Fungus Among Us: Celebrate Darwin Day at NC Museum of Natural Sciences Nov. 12

November 1, 2022

Yellow Brain Tremella, a jelly fungus. (RALEIGH, N.C.) — Spend the day learning about British naturalist Charles Darwin and what his theories of natural selection have done for the world of science, research and education when the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences hosts Darwin Day, Saturday, November 12, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In… Read More >