Nocturnal by Nature :: Activities | Food & Drink
All activities are from 7 to 10pm unless otherwise noted.
Dance With Dinosaurs
Got scary good dance moves? Head to the dance floor inside the Terror of the South exhibit on the 3rd floor with DJ Chocolate Rice.
Costume Contest
Register your costume at the 1st floor station by the Museum Store for the chance at fabulous prizes!
Spiders: Fear to Fascination
Additional ticket purchase required onsite. Our special exhibition will be open during the event! Purchase discounted tickets at the special exhibition entrance for only $10 to encounter more than 250 real and preserved specimens. Compete in a mating dance-off with a peacock spider, hold virtual spiders in your hand, test your fang agility and create your own animated arachnid. Discover how webs are produced and how spiders communicate, and see the world through spider vision. Get closer than ever to some of the more than 48,000 known spider species in this amazing interactive experience.
Mechanical Bull Shark
Channel your inner Chief Brody, test your endurance on the mechanical “bull shark.” Due to device constraints, riders must be over 4’ tall and under 250 lbs.
Brain Experience, NC State University
See and perhaps touch a real human brain while chatting with neuroscientists from the Meitzen Lab at NC State University.
Spirits
Learn how our third chemical sense adds to our sense of taste by sampling a commonly consumed “spirit.”
Creatures from the Bones!
Paleontologists find bones and may have a limited idea of what the live animal looked like. That’s where paleo-artists come in. Pick a skeleton, pretend it’s a fossil and use the art materials to draw what YOU think this creature would look like.
S.O.S – Save Our Sharks
Meet shark experts from the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher with bio-facts and images of sharks found along the NC coast and find out how the NC aquariums are serving to protect shark species.
Science, Society & the Strange, NC State University
Many strange or anomalous phenomena are outside the mainstream of scientific investigation, yet still remain of strong popular interest. NC State’s Darby Orcutt teaches and carries out research on “Science, Psi, Sasquatch and Spirits.”
Over the Moon Photo Booth
Get a photo of your Halloween costume at the photo booth and take home a souvenir print.
Freaky Fish, NCMNS Ichthyology Unit
Dive into the weird and wonderful world of fishes and discover how amazing they are!
World Lemur Night, Duke Lemur Center
Did you know the word lemur comes from the Latin for ghosts, based on some species’ nocturnal lives? Discover Madagascar’s nocturnal lemurs through models, spooky footage, fossil casts, and more with the Duke Lemur Center.
Plants that Eat!
See live, carnivorous plant specimens and learn about their beautiful and bizarre world with plant scientist, Dr. David Suchoff.
Potions, Poisons, and Toxins
Concoct a bubbly witches’ brew or match a biotoxin with the living organism that produces it.
Whooo did I eat?
Test your dissecting skills, sort bones, and discover what the Barn Owl had for dinner!
Spider Aerobics
Can you tell the difference between a dead spider and one that is molting? Check out this model and see how spiders use hydraulics to extend their legs!
Ghastly Genitalia
Ever wonder which animals are the most well-endowed? Is bigger always better? Learn about the factors that influence the size and shape of reproductive organs in the animal kingdom.
Emerging Infectious Diseases in Wildlife, Sustainable Health Ecology Lab at NC State University
Explore emerging infectious diseases in wildlife, such as snakes and bats, and learn how these diseases can spread across the world through the pet trade, invasive species, and other pathways.
Science Fact/Spooky Fiction Trivia
8:30pm in the Acro Cafe
Do you have Ludophobia, the fear of games and trivia? Gather your team and overcome your fear for the chance to win cool prizes. The game begins on the 4th floor in the Acro Cafe at 8:30 PM.
Monstrous Movie Shorts from the A/V Geeks
Take a break in the WRAL 3D Theater on the 1st floor to check out horror and sci-fi movie trailers from the 50s and 60s.
H.H. Brimley Returns!
Is that the ghost of the Museum’s first director from 1880, or science historian Dr. Paul Brinkman, Head of the Environmental Humanities Research Lab?!