The Museum of Natural Sciences has several special areas where visitors can interact with real objects and live animals, use Museum resources, and engage all five senses to learn about the natural world, all under the guidance of Museum staff and trained volunteers.
Exploration Stations | Discovery Room | Naturalist Center
Living Conservatory | Fossil Lab
Hours of operation vary.
Exploration Station discovery carts are located throughout the Museum. At these stations visitors can learn informally about a variety of natural history topics using hands-on materials and animals.
Be an Exploration Station volunteer
Public Hours
September–May| Monday | Closed | |
| Tuesday–Friday | noon–4 p.m. | |
| Saturday | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | |
| Sunday | 1 p.m.–4 p.m. |
June–August
| Monday | Closed | |
| Tuesday–Friday | 11 a.m.–3 p.m. | |
| Saturday | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | |
| Sunday | 1 p.m.–4 p.m. |
The
Discovery Room is a special place for families and visitors of all ages
to explore the natural world up close.
Engage your senses by touching fossils, feeling bird wings, smelling tropical scents, watching the beehive, and more. Try on costumes, play with puppets, and find hidden animals in our dead tree critter hotel. This is an ideal area for intergenerational learning.
Student Programs in the Discovery Room
Volunteering in the Discovery Room
Public Hours
September–May| Monday | Closed | |
| Tuesday–Friday | noon–4 p.m. | |
| Saturday | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | |
| Sunday | 1 p.m.–4 p.m. |
June–August
| Monday | Closed | |
| Tuesday–Friday | 11 a.m.–3 p.m. | |
| Saturday | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | |
| Sunday | 1 p.m.–4 p.m. |
Ages: 8 years and up, with 8- to 11-year-olds accompanied by an adult.
Room capacity: 35.
The
Naturalist Center provides visitors access to an extensive collection
of specimens for individual or class research, or for general interest.
Collections include birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, insects,
plants, fossils, rocks, minerals, and more. Reference books, computers,
CD-ROMs, microscopes, and other lab equipment is available. Staff can
provide assistance with self-directed exploration in the Naturalist Center.
Student
programs in the Naturalist Center
Volunteering in the Naturalist Center
Public Hours
| Monday | Closed | |
| Tuesday–Friday | 10 a.m. –3 p.m. | |
| Saturday | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | |
| Sunday | 1 p.m.–4 p.m. |
The
Conservatory provides visitors with a view of another world—the
dry tropical forest. North Carolina is closely connected to this world
through migration, shared species, and products. Enter the
Living Conservatory and immerse yourself in an amazing
world of living plants and animals, including
North Carolina’s favorite long-distance travelers, ruby-throated hummingbirds.
You’ll also find butterflies, turtles,
snakes and even a live sloth. See the vanilla orchid
and find plants such as annatto, used to color food
and cosmetics. Staff are on hand to answer questions.
Volunteering in the Living Conservatory
Hours of operation vary.
The
Fossil Lab is a working paleontology laboratory
staffed by Museum researchers and volunteers. Located
in the Prehistoric North Carolina exhibit area, the lab
lets visitors interact with paleontologists as they work
on a late Pleistocene mammoth skeleton from Florida.
A video station allows visitors to get up close and personal
with ongoing projects. During periods when the
lab is not staffed, the video station shows a short film
that demonstrates fossil preparation in the field and
laboratory.
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