Mission
Statement
The purpose of the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences is
to enhance the public’s understanding and appreciation of the natural
environment in ways that emphasize the biodiversity of North Carolina
and the southeastern United States and relate the region to the natural
world as a whole.
1960s
Education
takes the forefront
with Director William Hamnett, as he emphasizes direct service to teachers
and students. Hamnett teaches freshwater biology to fifth graders on field
trips to state parks, and delivers natural history lectures to students
and teachers in the Museum’s lecture hall. In 1964 an amazing creature
arrives in a suitcase from South Vietnam—a 15-foot Burmese python
named George by the soldiers who rescued it from people who intended to
eat it. Hamnett agrees to exhibit George temporarily, not realizing that
the snake will remain a main visitor attraction until its death nearly 30
years later.
 In this 1978 photo, it takes more than three to handle George, the Burmese python, including, from left, Curator of Reptiles Bill Palmer, Agriculture Commissioner Jim Graham, and Dewey Simpson, who donated the snake to the Museum in 1964. |
1970s
Educational efforts expand further as the Museum distributes
a collection of traveling exhibits or "black boxes"
to schools, clubs, and camps statewide. The boxes contain
bird and mammal mounts, slides, film strips, and one motion
picture titled "Your State Museum." Museum staff
members help develop school nature trails, give nature
programs for school groups, and conduct teacher workshops.
The Museum also offers short courses in collaboration
with N.C. Botanical Garden, and Sandwich Matinees for
office workers who want to watch a nature movie while
enjoying a bag lunch.
Ray Ashton takes the helm in the late ’70s and hires Mary Ann Brittain, who begins recruiting and training docents to present Curiosity Classes for visiting school groups. The American Association of Museums accredits the Museum in 1979, recognizing the achievement of professional standards in collections and services.
1980s
Under
Brittain’s guidance school programs grow and begin
to emphasize serving visiting school groups, helping educators
learn about natural sciences, and incorporating science
lessons into everyday classroom activities. Public programs,
headed by Jesse Perry, take a big leap forward with the
introduction of thematic events that later evolve into
the immensely popular Astronomy Day, Reptile and Amphibian
Day, and BuGFest!
In recognition of its emphasis on natural sciences and
conservation, in 1983 the Museum is transferred from the
Department of Agriculture to the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources.
 Museum educator M.T. Palmer shares a night walk with participants in the Girls in Science summer camp, begun in the 1990s. |
1990s
As
the decade opens, Dr. Betsy Bennett becomes the Museum’s
director. A short time later, Duke University donates
its vast collection of N.C. freshwater fauna to the Museum,
nearly doubling Museum holdings. Further additions from
the N.C. Institute of Marine Science and other institutions
push Museum collections past 1 million specimens. The
Museum is bursting at the seams, and Bennett leads a long-desired
push for expansion.
In 1995, Governor James Hunt launches the Museum’s campaign for new exhibits, which eventually raises $36 million. The Research Lab is completed in 1998, giving collections climate-controlled room in which to grow.
 A skeletal cast of the Museum’s rare dinosaur fossil, Acrocanthosaurus, traveled the state to promote the Museum opening. |
The search for specimens to enhance the new Museum yields spectacular finds. The Museum acquires a 3-million-year-old set of teeth from a 43-foot shark (Carcharadon megalodon) discovered in Beaufort County, and an amazing pair of dinosaur skeletons.
One, a 110-million-year-old carnivorous dinosaur and denizen of the Southeast, Acrocanthosaurus atokensis, is destined for the new building’s cornerstone “Terror of the South” exhibit, and remains the only fossil of its kind on display in the world. The other, a 66-million-year-old herbivorous Thescelosaurus, nicknamed Willo, is the first dinosaur discovered with a preserved heart, garnering worldwide attention for the Museum.
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