News

Media invited to sneak preview of "Dinosaurs in Motion" Friday, May 17

karen.swain — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:30:40 +0000

Dinosaurs in Motion Media Preview

Friday, May 17, 2013, 10:45 a.m.

Raleigh — Members of the media are invited to a preview of Dinosaurs in Motion at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, main building, at 10:45 a.m. on Friday, May 17 inside of the Special Exhibits Gallery on the 2nd floor. The Museum is thrilled to host the world premiere of Dinosaurs in Motion, produced by Imagine Exhibitions, Inc. The exhibit features 14, life-sized, movable, metal dinosaurs created by Asheville, North Carolina sculptor John Payne.

Payne was a trained metalsmith who believed that art fused with science was the perfect medium to inspire, teach and excite children. That coupled with his love for dinosaurs and passion for learning and discovery led to the creation of this exhibit. The artist passed away in 2008 before he could see his life’s work beautifully exhibited.

Interview opportunities include Museum Director Emlyn Koster, PhD, Tom Zaller, President and CEO of Imagine Exhibitions, and Paul D. Brinkman, PhD, Assistant Director of the Paleontology & Geology Research Laboratory at the Museum. Members of Payne’s family will also be in attendance. Contact Emelia Cowans at 919.707.9837 or via email at emelia.cowans@naturalsciences.org for more information.

Beginning May 18, Dinosaurs in Motion is open Monday-Saturday from 10am to 5pm and Sunday 12 to 5pm (last entry at 4pm). The exhibition is also open late (last entry at 7pm) on First Fridays and every Thursday, offering discounted adult admission. Tickets are available to purchase from the Museum Box Office (919.707.9950) and online at naturalsciences.org/specialexhibits. Prices: Free for Members; $10 for Adults; $6 for Children (3-12); $8 for Students, Seniors (65+) and Military. Dinosaurs in Motion is produced by Imagine Exhibitions Inc.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh documents and interprets the natural history of the state through exhibits, research, collections, publications and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9am-5pm, and Sun. 12-5pm. General admission is free. Visit the Museum online at www.naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, John E. Skvarla III, Secretary.

Publish Date:

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Buckaroo Banzai visits NC Museum. Expect the unexpected.

karen.swain — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:44:58 +0000

RALEIGH — Red Lectroids from Planet 10 have invaded Earth. Your only hope is neurosurgeon/rockstar Buckaroo Banzai and his random band of men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers. Not very comforting, is it? Don’t miss “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension” (1984), this month’s feature film showing at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on First Friday, May 3 at 7pm. Free.

“Buckaroo” boasts perennial B-listers Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum and Christopher Lloyd. Weller plays the rocking Dr. Banzai, who also happens to be a physicist and inventor of the oscillation overthruster, a device that allows him and his crime-fighting buddies to travel through solid matter by using the eighth dimension. Sweet! Weller is perhaps best known for his roles as a cyborg police officer with issues in “RoboCop” and as drug-induced writer Bill Lee in the William S. Burroughs semi-autobiographical “Naked Lunch.” Did you know? He also won a Best Actor award at the Paris International Film Festival for his performance as an upwardly mobile bachelor with a serious rat problem in “Of Unknown Origin” (1983).

Lithgow plays Buckaroo’s arch-enemy and Red Lectroid puppet Dr. Emilio Lizardo. Prior to his alien possession, Lithgow won a Tony Award for his role in Broadway’s “The Changing Room,” an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Roberta Muldoon in the big-screen’s “The World According to Garp,” and infamy for his role as patriarch Dr. Dick Solomon in the popular but unfortunate TV series “3rd Rock From the Sun.”

View the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gNJ1z-ulB4

Calling all teens! Forget Jagger. Learn how to move like an animal at this month’s Open Minds: Teen Science Café (6pm, Daily Planet Café) when the Museum’s Biodiversity Lab Director Roland Kays explains “Coordinated Movement in Groups of Animals and Teenagers.” Find out how a few simple decisions affect the movement of flocks of birds and bands of baboons. Kays will also lead teen attendees through an exercise to see if they can use flocking behavior to avoid predation! This is the last Teen Science Cafe until October 2013.

The Museum and the new Nature Research Center stay open from 5 to 9pm on the First Friday of every month, inviting visitors to witness a (classic) sci-fi or horror movie, wander through eye-catching exhibits, groove to live music from rock doctor David Kroll, or enjoy food and beverages at the Daily Planet Café. Additionally, the Museum Stores offer after-hours shopping (till 7pm) and an opening reception for six North Carolina potters, whose exhibit “May Flowers: Thrown Together” runs May 3 – June 3 in the Nature Art Gallery. All exhibited art is for sale.

Publish Date:

Monday, April 29, 2013

April Showers bring May Flowers on clay pots May 3 through June 2 at the Nature Art Gallery

karen.swain — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:57:07 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 23, 2013
Arts, Entertainment, Travel Editors. Images available.
Contact: emelia.cowans@naturalsciences.org; 919.707.9837

Thrown Together Potters runs May 3 through June 2 at the NCMNS Nature Art Gallery

RALEIGH — The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences' Nature Art Gallery is celebrating spring with flowers ON pots rather than in them. North Carolina rightly boasts a wealth of arts communities across the state, rich with pottery work that traces its roots back to the pre-colonial days of this delicate craft. The Museum will play host to a group of six North Carolina potters, who call themselves Thrown Together. They will exhibit and sell their wares in the Gallery from Friday, May 3 through Sunday, June 2.

Thrown Together consists of Jennifer Mecca, Julie Wiggins, Allison McGowan Hermans, Ron Philbeck, Amy Sanders and Michael Hamlin-Smith. There will be a reception to celebrate the opening from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on First Friday, May 3.

All of the pieces will have a floral motif, however, six very distinctive styles will be represented. All six potters are studio potters and have worked together before in various combinations. All of them sell their work continually all over the country and several of them have been represented in Lark Books' “500 Bowls.” This will be a rich, exciting show that should appeal to pottery collectors. Each of them produces work strong enough for a solo show, so having all six in one show will be very exciting!

Jennifer Mecca calls herself a utilitarian potter creating unique visually pleasing pots that are useful in everyday life. She earned a BFA and MFA in ceramics from East Carolina University. Through an exchange program at ECU she also had the opportunity to study in Finland, Russia, and Estonia. She was previously a studio assistant for Silvie Granatelli at the Penland School of Crafts in Penland, NC. She is a full time studio potter in Gastonia who also teaches classes for all ages, from children to college level. It was Jennifer's idea to form this group for everyone’s benefit. All artisans are self-employed.

Julie Wiggins is originally from Jacksonville, NC, and graduated from the ceramics program at ECU. She received an honorary degree from Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute in China and continued her studies in Mexico, Morocco and Europe and now works from her studio in Charlotte. She has taught for the last ten years including courses at Clayworks and the McColl Center for Visual Art, both in Charlotte. Her work has been featured at the American Craft Council and the Mint Museum of Craft.

Allison McGowan Hermans received her MFA in ceramics from Alfred University (Alfred, NY). She was a resident artist at the Philadelphia Clay Studio, a Sage Scholar at the Archie Bray Foundation (Helena, MT) and professor of ceramics at Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ) and Immaculata University (Immaculata, PA). She has taught at Penland School of Crafts and presented lectures and workshops both nationally and internationally. Her studio is in Concord, NC, where she is also an occupational therapy assistant and mother to two children.

Ron Philbeck studied math and horticulture at North Carolina State University and then began making pots in his hometown in Shelby, NC, in 1992. He became a studio potter in1996, making salt glazed earthenware pots. In 2008, he switched to stoneware and began decorating his work.

Amy Sanders has a BA in art and secondary education form Centre College (Danville, KY) where she also worked as an assistant in the clay and drawing studios and served on a professional glass blowing crew. She was interim manager at Clayworks and now teaches hand building classes. She also conducts workshops regularly across the United States. She is a member of the Piedmont Craftsmen and completed a large scale public art piece for the city of Charlotte. She was also an Affiliate Artist at the McColl Center for Visual Art. She creates earthenware vessels that balance form, texture and pattern with utility in her Charlotte studio. She is also a new mother.

Michael Hamlin-Smith became interested in pottery as an elementary school student. He later spent a year in Paraguay where he was exposed to local handmade crafts as an exchange student in 1983. In 1987, he bought his first kiln and began making, glazing and firing his own work. In 1996, he earned a BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio, and completed an eight-week intensive concentration course at the Penland School. He has a great passion for gardening and flower arranging and primarily creates vases for displaying flowers. His aesthetic influences are mid-century modern Scandinavian design, 12th -15th century Persian ceramics, Sung Dynasty vessels and Japanese Ikebana arrangements.

The Nature Art Gallery is located on the top floor of the Museum Store, Main building. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, Noon to 5 p.m.; and open until 9 p.m. on First Fridays. All exhibited art is for sale. For more information about the Nature Art Gallery, call 919.707.9854.

First Friday is a free, family-friendly, social event held the first Friday of each month at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. Visitors can enjoy exhibits, shopping, food and spirits until 9pm. The Natural Horror Picture Show (a vintage, sci-fi flick of 'B' movie caliber) begins at 7 p.m. Arrive early for live music and a film short from the A/V Geek archives. For information, call 919.707.9800.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (11 W. Jones St.) and its new wing, the Nature Research Center (121 W. Jones St.) in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications and educational programming. Hours: Mon.- Sat., 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sun., noon-5 p.m. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the web at www.naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, John Skvarla., Secretary.

Publish Date:

Friday, April 26, 2013

Learn what causes hurricanes and tornadoes at StormFest

karen.swain — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:48:01 +0000

Learn all about severe weather, how animals react prior to natural disasters and meet local meteorologists at StormFest

Become a severe weather spotter, give your own TV weather forecast and see “Tornado Alley in 3D” for FREE

RALEIGH — Find out why hail gets as big as a baseball, how animals survive a tornado or how rescuers gear up and respond after a hurricane. The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences hosts the 4th annual StormFest on Saturday, May 4, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s free.

Dozens of exhibitors will be on hand to answer questions, give live demonstrations and workshops on what causes hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters.

Learn about why weather happens, how to predict it, participate in weather experiments with the National Weather Service. ABC-11 will bring a “green screen” and you can even forecast the weather like a real meteorologist. You can also learn how you and your family can prepare when weather turns dangerous and which resources are available to help with storm response and recovery. Exhibits outside on Bicentennial Plaza include emergency response vehicles, animal rescue vehicles, and news trucks.

The most popular highlight of StormFest is “Ask the Experts,” where visitors can meet meteorologists from WRAL-TV 5, ABC-11, NBC-17 and News 14 Carolina and pick their brains on all things weather. Those discussions will be held in the WRAL 3D Theater (main building) at 10:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Following the talks, each meteorologist will sign autographs for fans.

At 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., be sure to check out “Tornado Alley in 3D,” back for one day only. Every showing is FREE courtesy of WRAL-TV 5. At 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., a special weather-related “Story Time” inspired by the book, “Pink Snow and Other Weird Weather,” will be held in Windows of the World (3rd floor, main building) where children of all ages can hear fun stories about “weather gone weird” and meet live animals from the book.

Presentations

WRAL Digital Theater, Main Building, 1st Floor

10 am, 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm and 4 pm — Tornado Alley in 3D (Free).

10:45 am — “Ask the Experts” Panel Discussion: Morning Meteorologists Elizabeth Gardner (WRAL), Don Schwenneker, “Big Weather” (ABC-11), Bill Reh (NBC-17) and Lee Ringer (News14).

2:30 pm — “Ask the Experts” Panel Discussion: Chief Meteorologists Greg Fishel (WRAL), Chris Hohmann (ABC-11), Wes Hohenstein (NBC-17) and Gary Stephenson (News14).

Windows on the World, Main Building, 3rd Floor

10 am & 1 pm — Weird Weather Stories

SECU Daily Planet, NRC

1 pm — Social Media Severe Weather reporting, Nick Petro, National Weather Service.

Free Workshops, NRC 4th Floor, Environmental Conference Center

11 am — SKYWARN Basic Weather Spotter Training

SKYWARN is a National Weather Service (NWS) program of trained volunteer severe weather spotters. SKYWARN volunteers support their local community by providing the NWS with timely and accurate severe weather reports. These reports, when integrated with modern NWS technology, are used to inform communities of the proper actions to take as severe weather threatens. The key focus of the SKYWARN program is to save lives and property through the use of the observations and reports of trained volunteers.

3:45 pm — SKYWARN Advanced Weather Spotter Training

The advanced portion of the National Weather Service SKYWARN spotter training class is meant to cover meteorological topics in a more technical nature, and covers topics related to anticipating severe thunderstorm development and weather radar interpretation. SKYWARN Basic Spotter Training is a prerequisite to attending this class.

Participating Groups

Salvation Army, CAMET NCDA&CS Emergency Programs Division, National Weather Service, NC Climate Office, News 14 Carolina, ABC-11, NBC-17, WRAL-TV, SKYWARN, NC Division of Air Quality, NC Baptist Men, NC Wing Civil Air Patrol, the Goddard School, US Coast Guard Auxiliary, NC State .

For more information on StormFest, call Miranda Wood at 919.707.9885 or via email at miranda.wood@naturalsciences.org.

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Museum of Natural Sciences selects participants for educational adventures abroad

karen.swain — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:01:59 +0000

For Immediate Release
Contacts: Jon Pishney, 919.707.8083
Liz Baird, 919.707.9893
Participants, upon request

RALEIGH — This summer, 20 educators from across North Carolina will experience the natural world like never before as part of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ Educators of Excellence Institutes.

From June 13 to 21, 2013, Museum educators will lead a selected group through Yellowstone — America’s first national park — as they study wildlife ranging from gray wolves to grizzly bears. These teachers also will study the park’s unique geology, learn about the role of fire in natural ecosystems, and discuss conservation and environmental issues similar to those faced by North Carolina.

Another group will travel to Belize, Central America, from July 23 to 31. Along with two educators from Belize, participants will learn about surprising similarities between the ecologies of the tropics and their own region of North Carolina. During this 23rd annual trip, they will study birds, butterflies and other animals unique to the tropics, and have the opportunity to explore a rain forest, Mayan ruins and a coral reef.

“These trips have the power to change educators’ lives,” says Liz Baird, director of school programs. “Not only do the Institutes inspire and reward outstanding teachers, they also have a huge impact on how teachers teach and relate to their students.”

The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences’ Educators of Excellence Institutes aim to inform and empower educators to teach students about North Carolina’s ecological connections to the rest of the world. All Institutes have an online component [naturalsciences.org] that allows colleagues and students to follow along on the trip through pictures, journal entries and email Q&A.

Institute alumni become part of the Educators of Excellence Network, which helps teachers exchange innovative ideas for teaching science and promoting conservation awareness. More than 400 outstanding North Carolina science educators have participated in Educators of Excellence programs since 1987, while more than 250,000 North Carolina children have learned from these teachers.

A list of participants is provided below.

Yellowstone National Park Institute

Virginia Byrne, Ravenscroft School, Wake County
Kelli Charles, Irwin Intermediate School, Cumberland County
Meredith Cheetham, Exploris Middle School, Wake County
Valerie Ann Guilbeault, Crest Middle School, Cleveland County
Sally Massengale, Glenwood Elemenary, Orange County
Sarah Otis, Brentwood Magnet Elementary School, Wake County
Ruth Riddle, D.H. Conley High School, Pitt County
Molly Tuttle, Kimmel Farm Elementary School, Forsyth County

Belize Tropical Ecology Institute

Meghan Baker, NC Cooperative Extension Service, Buncombe County
Laura Cochrane, Mills Park Middle School, Wake County
Les-Lee Efird, Jesse C. Carson High School, Rowan County
David Everett, Belville Elementary School, Brunswick County
Steve Gerkin, North Carolina Zoo, Randolph County
Bridget Jeskewich, Clyde Erwin Elementary School, Onslow County
Samantha Lawing, South Iredell High School, Iredell County
Adrienne Palma, Nags Head Elementary School , Dare County
Wendy Patoprsty, NC Cooperative Extension, Watauga County
Robin Seamon, William Ellis Middle School, Davie County
Carol Taylor, Hanes Magnet School, Forsyth County
Katharine Wernersbach , Havelock High School, Craven County

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Friday, April 19, 2013

Sixth annual Planet Earth Celebration

karen.swain — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:07:28 +0000

Saturday, April 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine; ride CAT buses for free

For immediate release—April 12, 2013
Education, Science, Entertainment, Features editors
Contact: emelia.cowans@naturalsciences.org 919.707.9837

Sixth Annual Planet Earth Celebration Encourages Social and Environmental Sustainability

Museum’s new wing, Nature Research Center, turns one-year old

RALEIGH — The sixth annual Planet Earth Celebration at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will be held Saturday, April 20, 2013 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine. The free public event will take place in and around the main Museum (11 W. Jones St.) and the Museum’s new wing, the Nature Research Center (121 W. Jones St.).

As North Carolina’s largest sustainability festival, the Planet Earth Celebration encourages visitors to learn about green living and sustainability in fun, creative and educational ways, and to celebrate the rich natural world we live in and learn how to keep it vibrant. Exhibitors and vendors will provide expert advice about organic farming, “going green” at home, conserving water and energy, green landscaping, healthy community building, e-cycling and many other sustainability-related topics.

While at the event, you’ll learn how to create eco-friendly solutions for local environmental challenges. Shop with a conscience for eco-smart products at vendors like Sugar Magnolia, Jinja Fair Trade and the Beehive Collective. Help build a “trash to treasure” sculpture hosted by Keep NC Beautiful, enjoy delicious local eats from various food trucks and jam with a drum circle led by One Tribe from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Feel free to bring your own drum or hula hoop. Visitors can also test their knowledge at the Wheel of Environmental Knowledge and win a reusable water bottle.

Our KidZone encourages outdoor play, complete with hopscotch, sidewalk chalk, hula hoops, sack races, jump ropes and more. “Milkweed for Monarchs” is an exciting craft activity for the whole family. Start by making a recycled pot out of newspaper and plant a milkweed seed. Mature milkweed plants will attract monarch butterflies, whose populations are declining in large part to reduced numbers of milkweed plants in the United States and Canada. There will also be a few freebies until they run out. The North Carolina Consumers Council will give away free reusable bags, and Evergreen Packaging will hand out tree seedlings. For the little ones, Meet the Animals in Windows on the World will feature many protected animals at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Urban Tumbleweed Bowling, with an enormous up-cycled plastic bag tumbleweed, will take place on the Daily Planet Plaza.

Nature Research Center Turns One-Year Old!

A 24-hour grand opening one year ago, April 20, introduced the Museum’s new wing to the people of North Carolina and the world with many programs that were streamed to India, Africa and the Philippines. To mark the one-year anniversary of the Nature Research Center (NRC), there will be a cake cutting at noon outside on the Daily Planet Plaza with cake for up to 70 people. The public is certainly invited to take part in the celebration. For those interested in the many green features of the NRC, there will be a station detailing all of the cool aspects of the NRC, from LED lights from CREE, a green roof to reduce runoff, water collection in cisterns for flushing toilets, occupancy sensors, and photovoltaic panels. Jenny Profet from the Museum’s Exhibits division will give a talk at 11 a.m. in the SECU Daily Planet called, “Building a Greener Future.”

The keynote speaker for this year’s Planet Earth Celebration is local Naturalist and Author, Tom Earnhardt, who will talk about conservation, and green living and read excerpts from his new book, “Crossroads of the Natural World.” He’ll give two talks at 1pm and 3pm inside the SECU Daily Planet. Copies of Earnhardt’s book are available for sale and signing.

To encourage the reduction of our carbon footprint, April 20 is also a Fare-Free day city-wide, courtesy of Capital Area Transit. For more information about Planet Earth Celebration or green-living workshops, e-mail Bonnie Eamick at bonnie.eamick@naturalsciences.org or call 919.707.9890.

There is a small fee for these workshops and pre-registration is required. See descriptions below.

The Backyard Beekeeper

Time: 10-11a.m. Cost $10

If you have ever dreamed of keeping honeybees or you simply find them fascinating, then this class is for you. We will explore the biology and management of a backyard hive and see an active honeybee hive. Additionally we'll learn about an interesting, low-cost approach to keeping backyard bees and where to obtain honeybees, equipment and advice. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Backyard Composting: Bins, Piles & Beyond!

Time: 10-11:30 a.m. Cost: $5

The Compost Doctor is In! Compost can help heal the soil, but you need the right prescription. Learn how to mix yard debris, food scraps and other organic wastes into a combination that's good for your garden. Participants will leave with instructions for making healthy compost at home, plus a bag of finished compost to jump-start your home pile.

Native Plants

Time: 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Cost: $5

This workshop will provide the participant with ideas on how to incorporate native plants in urban yards, resources for native plants to use, and an opportunity to look at ways to incorporate native plants in your yard. Please come prepared to discuss some small plot in your yard that you are thinking about incorporating native plants, pay attention to the amount of sun the area gets, the type of soil, and the moisture content of the area.

Downtown Tree Trek

Time: 1-2 p.m. Cost: $5

Did you know that the timing of tree leafing, flowering, and fruiting can tell us a lot about our changing climate? Scientists need YOUR help to document seasonal changes in trees, so don your citizen scientist cap as we visit several downtown trees to collect and submit vital scientific data. Ages 12 and up.

Lost Ladybugs of Raleigh

Time: 3:30-4:30 p.m. Cost: $5

Become a citizen scientist and join us for an outdoor ladybug hunt! Our native ladybugs may be at risk due to the import of non-native species in our country, so scientists need YOUR help to look for, photograph, and submit reports of ladybugs you see. We'll visit several sites around the Museum to document and report the biodiversity of downtown Raleigh's ladybugs!

Publish Date:

Friday, April 12, 2013

Dinosaurs in Motion exhibition fuses Art with Science

karen.swain — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:53:59 +0000

Join us for the world premiere of Dinosaurs in Motion, where visitors engage with — and learn from — 14 magnificent, life-size metal dinosaur sculptures inspired by actual fossils. The new exhibition runs May 18 through September 8 at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh.

Dinosaurs in Motion sculptures take interactivity to a whole new dimension. Visitors can manipulate each dinosaur via lever-and-pulley systems or remote controls in a brand new exhibit that fuses Art with traditional STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) for STEAM. Visitors are also taken along an apprentice’s path that ends at Innovation Stations, where they can test their creativity and newfound technological inspiration with hands-on activities.

The story of the artist, North Carolina sculptor John Payne, runs through the heart of Dinosaurs in Motion. Payne was a trained metalsmith with a passion for learning and discovery. In art, he found the infinite world of expression. Payne devoted his life to creating metal kinetic dinosaurs, inspired by the universally enchanting effect dinosaurs have on people and the many hours he spent with his children admiring the dinosaurs at The Field Museum in Chicago. Recognizing an opportunity for teaching art and science, Payne blended his skills in mechanical science and artistic craftsmanship to create these wonderful dinosaur sculptures until his untimely death in 2008. A detailed look at his process, from sketches and sculptures to biomechanics and robotics, leads visitors to walk away with Payne’s inspiring message: “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

To view a past interview with Payne, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdnVkVJXEPU

Beginning May 18, Dinosaurs in Motion is open Monday-Saturday from 10am to 5pm and Sunday 12 to 5pm (last entry at 4pm). The exhibition is also open late (last entry at 7pm) on First Fridays and every Thursday, offering discounted adult admission. Tickets will be available to purchase starting May 10, 2013 from the Museum Box Office (919.707.9950) and online at tickets.naturalsciences.org. Prices: Free for Members; $10 for Adults; $6 for Children (3-12); $8 for Students, Seniors (65+) and Military. Dinosaurs in Motion is produced by Imagine Exhibitions Inc.

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Thursday, April 4, 2013

Commemorate the 101st anniversary of the sinking of Titanic, Monday, April 15 at noon; state employees receive discount into "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition"

karen.swain — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:54:08 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — March 28, 2013
Arts, Science, Entertainment, Travel Editors. Images available.
Contact: emelia.cowans@naturalsciences.org; 919.707.9837

101st anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic commemorated in a “Lunch & Learn, ” Monday, April 15 at noon

RALEIGH — At 11:40 p.m. on April 14, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Less than three hours later, the last of the mighty ship slipped beneath the surface, taking more than 1,500 passengers with her.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will commemorate the 101st anniversary of the sinking of the maiden voyage of the Titanic on Monday, April 15 at 12 noon for a one-hour “Lunch & Learn” in the Museum’s main auditorium. The public is invited to bring a lunch and listen to a historical account of the Titanic’s final hours, told by historian and actor, Michael Sanders, known for his portrayal of Edward J. Smith, Captain of the Titanic. Admission is free. For those who want to buy lunch for the presentation, the Museum’s Acro Café on the 4th floor, has a variety of wraps and sandwiches for sale.

Sanders, who also bears an uncanny resemblance to Captain Smith, will give a 45-minute presentation followed by 15-minutes of Q & A. Sanders has been involved in theater since 1974, before, during and after his 14 years in the U.S. Army. His theatrical roles/activities have varied, from portraying characters in a number of military base productions, Renaissance fairs, and dinner theater to assisting in stage lighting, construction and props. Recently, his resemblance to Captain Smith has given him a new direction to apply his improvisational skills.

The Museum is also offering a special sinking date admission price of $10 to North Carolina state employees who want to see Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition. State employees need only show their badges to receive the discount.

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition closes Sunday, April 28. Museum visitors will have even more opportunity to see the exhibit on the last two weekends of its schedule. The Museum will be open late, until 9 p.m., Thursday through Saturday (April 18 to 20 and April 25 to 27). Last entry into the exhibit will be 8 p.m. On Sunday, April 21, and Sunday, April 28, the exhibit will still close at 5 p.m. Last entry into the exhibit will be 4 p.m.

Museum admission is free. Titanic Tickets are: $14 for Adults; $11 for Seniors (65+), Students and Military; $9 for Children (3-12); $8 for Museum Members; $11 on Thursdays and First Friday. To purchase tickets, visit or call the Museum Box Office at 919.707.9950. For more information, contact Emelia Cowans at 919.707.9837 or emelia.cowans@naturalsciences.org.

RMS Titanic Inc. has a singular purpose: to faithfully and respectfully preserve the memory of Titanic and of all who sailed with her. Over the past 15 years, more than 22 million people have seen this powerful exhibition in major museums worldwide — from Chicago to Los Angeles and Paris to London. RMS Titanic Inc. is the only company permitted by law to recover objects from the wreck of the Titanic. In all activities and events related to Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, the Museum of Natural Sciences wishes to remember and honor those whose lives were lost due to the Titanic’s tragic sinking 100 years ago.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (11 W. Jones St.) and its new wing, the Nature Research Center (121 W. Jones St.) in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sun., noon-5 p.m. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the Web at www.naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, John E. Skvarla III, Secretary.

Publish Date:

Monday, April 1, 2013

Never before seen landscape paintings by Anthony Ulinski to debut at the Nature Art Gallery Friday, April 5

karen.swain — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 20:39:09 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — February 19, 2013
Arts, Entertainment, Travel Editors. Images available.
Contact: emelia.cowans@naturalsciences.org; 919.707.9837

The Places in Between, landscape paintings by Anthony Ulinski on display at the Nature Art Gallery, Friday, April 5–28

RALEIGH — The Nature Art Gallery at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences will feature selected paintings by Anthony Ulinski from his most recent body of work titled The Places in Between. The title refers to the subjects of the paintings — towns, farms and lands of eastern North Carolina that Ulinski frequently traveled through going to and from his home in Raleigh and on the coast. The gallery will feature nine of the works from the series, several of which are showing here for the first time. The show will open with a reception First Friday, April 5, 6:30 to 9 p.m. and will continue through April 28.

Ulinski spent several months driving around eastern North Carolina photographing the seemingly simple pastoral, urban and natural landscapes of the coastal plain region that often seem unremarkable and go unnoticed. From those photographs he ultimately created 20 compositions that he began exhibiting last fall in Rocky Mount. From there, they moved to Washington, North Carolina, and after exhibiting here in April, will head to Wilson in June and finally back to Raleigh in September.

A self-taught artist, Ulinski, begins each painting with a charcoal sketch, then layers paint combined with cold wax with a palette knife. Sometimes as many as a dozen layers create a surface of visual depth and texture. The end result is a work of art that that can be contemplative in mood or filled with tension, compelling the viewer to appreciate the simple yet familiar scenes that characterize eastern North Carolina.

Ulinski has worked out of the same studio in Raleigh, Dovetail Woodworks, for more than 30 years — the first 15 as a woodworker and now as a painter. His woodwork has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Craft Fair and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Fair. He began his second career in 2001 with a solo show of paintings. He has had at least one solo show each year since and has participated in numerous group shows — more than 60 in all. Ulinski has been awarded several grants and fellowships and teaches workshops and lectures in both painting and woodwork regularly at universities, craft schools and art centers.

Publish Date:

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Museum hosts army of civilized apes, radiation-crazed super humans

karen.swain — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:13:49 +0000

RALEIGH — The bizarre world you met in “Planet of the Apes” was only the beginning. What lies beneath may be the end! Or it might just be the second of five Ape Planet movies. Either way, “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” (1970) is this month’s feature film shown at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on First Friday, April 5 at 7pm. Free.

When astronaut Brent is sent to search for the missing astronaut Taylor, he suffers a similar fate — crash landing on a post-apocalyptic planet ruled by talking apes. Brent soon finds Taylor’s former traveling companion, a mute human female in a fur bikini named Nova. Together they discover a cult of psychic-powered humans, a band of cranky monkeys, and a divine doomsday bomb — all beneath the atomic rubble of what was once the city of New York! Can you say “recipe for disaster”?

Brent is portrayed by James Franciscus, who is best known for his recurring roles in a number of television series, including “Naked City” (1958), “The Investigators” (1961), “Mr. Novak” (1963) and “Longstreet” (1971). As co-founder of Omnibus Productions, Franciscus also produced many classic movies for television, such as “Heidi” (1968), “Jane Eyre” (1970), and “The Red Pony” (1973). Burt Reynolds was actually considered for the role of Brent before Franciscus was cast.

Maurice Evans reprises his role as the Dr. Zaius, orangutan with an attitude. Evans was one of Broadway’s more illustrious interpreters of Shakespeare in the late 1930s and ‘40s, and was awarded a special Tony in 1950 for his body of stage work. Evans also won an Emmy award in 1960 for his TV version of “Macbeth.” Yet he is probably best known for his recurring appearance on the “Bewitched” TV series in the late 1960s, as Elizabeth Montgomery’s loving but unapproving warlock father named, well, Maurice.

The ever helpful chimpanzee Zira is played by the accomplished Kim Hunter, who made her Broadway debut performance as Stella in “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 1947, for which she won the Critics Circle and Donaldson awards. Hunter reprised Stella alongside Marlon Brando’s Stanley in the big screen version of the Tennessee Williams play in 1951, for which she won an Oscar.

Calling all teens! What new lessons can you learn from an ancient disease? Come find out at this month’s Open Minds: Teen Science Café (6pm in the Daily Planet Café), when Dr. Bill Goldman from the University of North Carolina will talk about plague, the deadly disease that changed the course of European history during the Middle Ages. Why do scientists continue to study this disease, and what can it tell us about the evolution and emergence of highly virulent pathogens? Goldman will provide insight into modern research on the bacterium Yersinia pestis and how we can continue to learn about new diseases by understanding old ones.

The Museum and the new Nature Research Center stay open from 5 to 9pm on the First Friday of every month, inviting visitors to witness a (classic) sci-fi or horror movie, wander through eye-catching exhibits, groove to live music, or enjoy food and beverages at the Daily Planet Café. “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” is now open and First Friday visitors can see it at a discounted rate ($3 off adult tickets). Additionally, the Museum Store offers after-hours shopping and an opening reception for painter Anthony Ulinksi, whose exhibit “The Places In Between” runs April 5-29 in the Nature Art Gallery. All exhibited art is for sale.

Publish Date:

Tuesday, March 19, 2013