Dueling Dinosaurs Grand Opening Presentations
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Quiet Space
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Our quiet space is an area where visitors can take a break from the events and activities. This space is sectioned off and available for visitors with anxiety, stress, and sensory overstimulation. Guests are also provided with sensory toys, coloring pages, books, and noise-canceling headphones (upon request). People of all ages and abilities are welcome to take advantage of our quiet space.
Dino-Enthusiast Activities
3D Printing and Bioprinting
UNC/NC State University Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering
Glimpse 3D printing of medically relevant materials, including in the form of dinosaur models.
Amphibians Past and Present
Meredith College
Come and learn how we swab for fungal pathogens in the field. Then practice screening for fungal infections. Also, take a look at some current research. Finally, you can color an ancient amphibian.
Dino Circuits with Makey Makey
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Meet “Conductosaurus” and “Insulatosaurus” at this dinosaur-themed table about circuits and conductivity. You’ll craft an electronic game controller using your new circuitry skills and Makey Makey devices.
Cretaceous Creatures
NC Museum of Natural Sciences – Paleontology Research Lab
Search through 66-67-million-year-old sediment to discover and identify microfossils from Montana near where the Dueling Dinosaurs were found! This is your chance to see the fossils, talk with scientists, and experience Cretaceous Creatures, one of the largest paleontology public science projects to date!
Design a Triceratops!
Boy Scouts Occoneechee Council
Come design and build your own Triceratops mask! Become one of the “Dueling Dinosaurs” yourself. Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA are for boys and girls — all are welcome!
Dining with Dinosaurs
NC Museum of Natural Sciences — Naturalist Center
How do paleontologists determine what dinosaurs ate? We’ll examine dinosaur teeth and learn about the clues that hint at dinosaur diets.
Dino Excavations
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Hone your excavation skills by digging out dinosaurs from the surrounding sediment. You can even bring your prize home!
Dinosaur Meltdown
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Dinosaur Meltdown is an eight-player action game that challenges your stamina, agility and reactions. The object of the game is to be the last person on your feet while two spinning boom arms try to knock you off your podium. While this attraction is fun and challenging for many different age groups, due to the nature of this attraction, all participants are required to fill out a waiver form.
Dinosaur Perceptions Over Time
Schiele Museum of Natural History and Planetarium
Paleontologists haven’t figured everything about dinosaurs. New research continues to shape our understanding of these prehistoric creatures. Explore the fossils behind mythical and real animals.
Dinosaur Playground — Children’s Activity Area
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Sit back and let the kids play with paleo-themed toys and games!
Discover Mammals — The Other Cretaceous Critters
NC Museum of Natural Sciences — Mammalogy Unit
We will showcase some of the earliest mammals and explore how their traits and features can still be seen in today’s species. After all, we do live in the #ageofmammals.
Flying Pterodactyl Discovery Station
Mad Science of NC
Step into the world of prehistoric wonders, unleash your creativity and engineer your very own flying pterodactyl! This station features a hands-on activity where guests can design a pterodactyl using specially designed templates. A friendly “Mad Science helper” will be on hand to provide guidance and assistance, ensuring that every creation is unique and spectacular. Guests will have the opportunity to launch their pterodactyls, and compete to see whose creation can soar the furthest. Get ready to aim high and watch your pterodactyl take flight!
Giant Lemurs and Elephant Birds
Duke Lemur Center Museum of Natural History
Follow the lemur fossil record from the badlands of Wyoming through the deserts of Egypt, to the caves of Madagascar. Learn how to tell the difference between a lemur fossil and a monkey fossil in case you want to search for our ancient ancestors.
Giant Snakes
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Hollywood thinks giant snakes are bloodthirsty killers but what does science say? Meet some real North Carolina “giant” snakes and see how big you are compared to Titanoboa, the largest snake that ever lived!
Hot and Cold in the Cretaceous
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Dinosaurs and other creatures of the Cretaceous had varied metabolisms, ranging from cold-blooded (ectotherms) like frogs and lizards, to warm-blooded, (endotherms) like birds and mammals. Regardless of their metabolic abilities, one physical constraint affected all creatures of the Cretaceous as well as creatures living today: Surface to Volume Ratios. This ratio, determining the amount of surface area relative to body size, played a crucial role in heat regulation for both ancient and modern animals. The more surface you have (i.e. skin) for your volume (body size), the faster you may lose your heat! We will look at some of the strategies that animals past and present used to maintain their ideal body temperature.
Journey Through Extinction: Climate Change’s Role in Mass Extinctions
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Explore the impact of climate-induced mass extinctions through history while engaging in an ocean water experiment. Create a plan and take a pledge to reduce your carbon footprint for a sustainable future.
Jurassic Ropes and Chalk Art
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Use ropes to illustrate dinosaur sizes and chalk to create vibrant drawings. Traverse the prehistoric landscape, uncovering ancient giants and leaving behind colorful masterpieces!
Jurassic Sparks — Dino Paper Circuits Adventure
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
How many times have you used electricity today? Probably too many times to count, but most of the time, we don’t even think about it. Explore the invisible science of electricity and circuits, and create your own light-up paper circuit art featuring dinosaurs to take home!
Magnificent Millipedes
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
This mesmerizing display features native North Carolina millipedes alongside giant prehistoric species. From the ancient titans that once roamed the Earth to the intricate details of local species, this table offers a captivating journey through time and biodiversity. With each specimen, visitors can marvel at the evolution and adaptation of these remarkable arthropods, showcasing the rich natural history of both ancient and contemporary millipedes in the region.
Make Your Own Dino Feet —Kids’ Craft
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Dress up like a dino with these adorable dinosaur feet!
Meet the Modern Snakes
Snake Experience
Come join us to meet living snakes! Dinosaurs weren’t the only thing living during the Mesozoic. Ancient snakes and amphibians were around too! Come see and pet a few of their living descendants.
Paleontology Research Lab Open House
NC State University & NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Go behind-the-scenes in our 3rd floor paleontology lab. Meet Museum and NCSU paleontologists, hear about their latest research, and be the first to see dinosaurs so new, they don’t even have names yet!
Textured Paleo Painting Demonstration
Stacy Lewis Studio
Stacy Lewis will be demonstrating mixed media painting techniques to produce touchable dinosaur paintings.
They Could Be Dinosaurs
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Meet some “ancient” animals and learn about how “they could be dinosaurs!”
The Thrill of Frills (And Other Ceratopsian Anatomy)
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Imagine the thrill that paleontologists must feel when they discover the fossilized skull of a Triceratops! Adorned with a massive neck frill and three facial horns, Triceratops is undoubtedly the most famous Ceratopsian dinosaur. Stop by to learn about the interesting anatomy of this group and some modern animals with similar traits. Scientists aren’t sure why Ceratopsians evolved their characteristic frills — cast a vote for your favorite theory!
Trailblazing Dinosaurs
NC Science Trail
Enjoy making fossil impressions in clay to take home. Choose from several kinds of dinosaurs and vote for your favorite kind.
Tyrant Family Tree
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Tyrannosaurs – from Albertosaurus to Zhuchengtyrannus — were some of the most successful terrestrial predators to ever evolve. Explore their family tree and discover how museum paleontologists are helping answer longstanding questions about how the tyrant lizards came to rule.
Celebrate STEM Activities
Air Quality in NC
DEQ – Division of Air Quality
Table visitors will have the opportunity to spin the Air Wheel and answer an Air Quality Question with the chance to win a prize!
All Things Science
NC Museum of Natural Sciences – Micro World Investigate Lab
Get ready to explore and investigate different science disciplines by doing hands-on activities. Be mesmerized by our Moon jellies and our Styrofoam eating beetles and learn how microfossils can help determine the age of larger specimen.
Ant Lab
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Visit the Evolutionary Biology & Behavior Research Lab (aka “Ant Lab” on YouTube) and learn about our research and some of the organisms we study.
Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Lab
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Showcasing the research and outreach activities of the Museum’s astrophysicists, Dr. Rachel Smith and Dr. Patrick Treuthardt.
Biodiversity Research Lab
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Scientists in the Biodiversity Lab will share stories of perilous field work and results from their research projects on mammals in North Carolina and around the world. From Zambian bats to Outer Banks coyotes, Giant Pandas to suburban deer, obscure rodents to blood-licking vampires there is bound to be something for any animal lover.
Children’s STEM Books
PaperPie
Come do a matching activity or “magically” paint a picture!
Convergent Evolution
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Check out one of the coolest aspects of evolution: convergence. How can two animals separated by thousands of miles and millions of years look almost identical? Find out here! (There will be live animals!)
Delta Dental Discovery
Delta Dental of North Carolina
Delta Dental of North Carolina and Emerald Pine the Tooth Fairy will engage with visitors and share ways to develop healthy habits when it comes to their teeth and gums. Explore how to “Rethink your Drink” to keep your smile sparkling. And leave smiling with some fun dino-themed giveaways (while supplies last). “Come see why we DIG 67-million-year-old teeth!”
Discovery Room
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
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, listening to frog calls and more. Try on costumes, play with puppets and find hidden animals in our dead tree critter hotel. Hours: 10:30am-4:30pm.
Dueling Invertebrates
NC Museum of Natural Sciences – Non-Molluscan Invertebrates
Examples of competitive interactions among species as seen in the NCMNS Non-molluscan Invertebrates Collection.
FIRST Robotics – Techno Wolves!
FRC Team 5518 Techno Wolves
Join us as we introduce young minds to the concepts of STEAM by talking to kids about our team, about robotics, and let kids drive our robots.
Freshwater Mollusks
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Learn about the diversity of freshwater mollusks, gastropods and bivalves.
Geology Research and Collections
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Investigate exceptional minerals, research specimens and exhibits, and discuss with Museum researchers. Check out the digital microscope to view small specimens.
Girl Scouts — North Carolina Coastal Pines
This station will have geodes with an information display.
How to Study a Bird: Dead or Alive
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
The ornithology unit at the Museum hosts one of the largest collections of its kind in the southeastern United States. We will showcase some examples of its nearly 21,000 bird specimens and parts, which are used by many researchers around the country. Museum researchers will also be happy to talk about their fieldwork to survey and/or track birds in NC, Guyana/Suriname, and Nicaragua.
If DNA Were Like a Strand of Hair
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at NC State University
See the amazing way that the DNA molecule super-coils in the nucleus of our cells without getting hopelessly tangled.
Magic Minerals
Museum of Geosciences
This hands-on activity allows visitors of all ages to experience various fun, unique, exciting and unexpected mineral properties such as double refraction, fluorescence, and more.
Microbes, Monkey Blood and More
Genomics and Microbiology Research Lab, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Explore what’s going on in the Genomics & Microbiology Research Lab, including our partners at the NC Wildlife Resources Commission and NC Central University, and participate in research on monkey blood!
Micro Eye
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
See all sorts of objects up close and personal when you operate our visitor-friendly microscope!
Museum Membership and Donations
Friends of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences
The generosity of our members and donors enables the NC Museum of Natural Sciences to offer exhibitions and programming that promote interest in and exploration of our natural world – inspiring an appreciation of science, conservation and nature. Your support helps sustain our mission and work through the year. Become a Member or make a gift today!
NC State University CAMAL 3D Printing and Design
NC State University
NCSU’s Center for Additive Manufacturing and Logistics (CAMAL) will highlight its 3D printing capabilities with live prints, demonstrations, and fun activities for all ages.
North Carolina Science Festival
NCSciFest
The NC Science Festival is an annual month-long, statewide celebration of STEM that happens every April. NCSciFest staff will offer giveaways and share information about this year’s Festival and how you can participate in fun science activities all month long.
Plant Cells LIVE!
NC State University
Plants perceive and respond to the environment around them at the level of tissues and cells. Come view plant cells under the microscope; maybe you will catch some speedy organelles moving around the cell!
Plants4Kids
NC State University
Plants provide us with food, clothes, medicines, clean air and building materials. But watch out for different bugs, some of them plant friends and some of them plant foes. This NC State research group studies how plants grow and develop. Come and learn about plants and how they interact with the bug world!
Pouty Perfection: The Remarkable Lips of Sucker Fish
NC Museum of Natural Sciences — Ichthyology Unit
Get a chance to look a fish right in the lips! We will have specimens on display showcasing fish in the family Catostomidae, commonly called sucker fish, and their spectacularly diverse lips. These bottom-feeders play an important role in nutrient-cycling in freshwater ecosystems. Unfortunately, many species are threatened by habitat loss, pollution and invasive species. Come get to know these special animals better – we are sure you will become a sucker for sucker fish!
Prairie Ridge Ecostation
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Get to know the Museum’s outdoor site, Prairie Ridge Ecostation! Learn about this local outdoor resource and engage in some hands-on nature learning!
Rainforests of the Sea
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Coral reefs are full of colorful life and diversity. Who lives there and how did they get there in the first place? Help assemble a vibrant coral reef.
Remarkable Reptiles
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
We will showcase remarkable reptiles from the Museum’s herpetology research collection.
Ring Tossing Robots
FIRST North Carolina
Watch as industrial-sized robots built by high school students toss rings into goals! Earn your robot driver’s license and test your skills.
ROCK Museum
ROCK Museum, Kaye Lees Corner Foundation
ROCK Museum is dedicated to furthering education about our Earth. Visit them at the event, where they will be displaying rocks, minerals & fossils that you can study hands-on, and ask questions about. Build a collection if you like, or spin the wheel for prizes. They will be doing a small live demonstration on lapidary work & creating beautiful things from rocks.
RTI International: Real Science for Curious Minds
RTI International
Make your own lung: We all breathe without even thinking about it. But how does it work? Come to RTI’s booth to make your own mini lung model and find out. Experiment with dry ice: Did you know dry ice is solid carbon dioxide (CO2)? Visit RTI’s booth to experiment with chemistry and the states of matter. You won’t want to miss the soapy witch cauldron and screaming penny.
SMIF Micro-CT Lab
Duke University Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility (SMIF)
This table will have some digital and some hands-on activities for visitors. On a tablet, visitors can look at some examples of CT Scan data and try to match the slice-by-slice data to the real object. They will also have 3D-printed lemur skeletons — originally scanned in our lab — that visitors can try to piece together using pictures as a guide.
Snake Medicine
NC Museum of Natural Sciences – Windows on Animal Health
Slither on over to the Windows on Animal Health to interact with the Veterinary Sciences team as they perform exams and medical procedures on snakes! While “snake medicine” and providing health care to reptiles may seem unusual or unexpected to most, these are typical procedures for our Veterinary Sciences team. The Museum maintains thousands of live animals including birds, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and even invertebrates for educational programs and exhibits. Whether they fly, crawl, swim, slither, or hop, the veterinary staff regularly perform procedures to keep all the Museum animals as healthy as possible. Join us for a front row seat view of exotic animal veterinary medical procedures! Hours: 11:00am-2:00pm.
Tar Pit Dig and Neolithic Necklaces
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Excavate ancient mammal teeth and claws from the “tar pit” and make your own Neolithic necklace!
Wetlands: “Mother Nature’s Sponges”
Aquatic Insects in Healthy Streams
Mammals of NC
US Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District Raleigh Regulatory Field
Find out about the environmental landscape “EnviroScape” to see how wetlands affect the environment and human health. Peer through a microscope to see preserved aquatic species indicators for stream health. Learn about NC mammals with wildlife mammal pelts and scat.