Surface of the Chelyabinsk meteorite, showing the melted layer, or fusion crust, which formed as the rock crashed through Earth’s atmosphere.

The Impact of Asteroid Day

June 30, 2023

 Video: Aleksandr Ivanov, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. (Trimmed) By Rachel L. Smith, Head, Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Lab and Curator, Meteorites Let’s take a moment to marvel at our asteroids, ancient relics from planet formation about 4.6 million years ago! Most of these primitive rocky leftovers reside in the asteroid belt between… Read More >


Sagebrush, meadows and hills at sunset in Lamar Valley.

An Indescribable Experience

June 26, 2023

Sagebrush, meadows and hills at sunset in Lamar Valley. Photo: Melissa Dowland/NCMNS. Twelve North Carolina educators recently returned from Yellowstone National Park on one of the Museum’s Educators of Excellence Institutes. They spent ten days exploring the ecology and geology of our first national park, learning from experts and getting ideas and information to bring… Read More >


Hispanic boy in a blue sweatshirt looks at the Sun through a special telescope.

Summer Blast Off: Rocketry and astronomy at NC Museum of Natural Sciences, June 29

June 22, 2023

[RALEIGH, N.C.] – Can’t wait till January for the next Astronomy Days? Then head to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences for Summer Blast Off! This outdoor event – held Thursday, June 29, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. – offers visitors a variety of ways to shoot off their own mini-rockets, an up-close look… Read More >


Tarantula fighting a wasp

Llegó a Raleigh la exhibición de arañas más grande del mundo | The largest spider exhibition in the world has arrived in Raleigh

June 20, 2023

Photo: Karen Swain. Esta es una oportunidad para aprender sobre uno de los seres más fantásticos del planeta. por Eduardo Noyola Raleigh. – Una asombrosa exhibición sobre el mundo de las arañas se estrena en el Museo de Ciencias Naturales en Raleigh, Carolina del Norte. Esta se lleva a cabo entre el 17 de junio… Read More >


This grizzly bear sow and her two cubs near the road on the way into the park.

Yellowstone: Worth the Wait

June 16, 2023

Twelve North Carolina educators are now in Yellowstone National Park on one of the Museum’s Educators of Excellence Institutes. They met at RDU at 4am on Wednesday, June 14, for ten days exploring the ecology and geology of our first national park, learning from experts and getting ideas and information to bring back to students… Read More >