
Top 12 science-y things to do over the holidays
December 8, 2016
During this holiday season, celebrate science with the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Here are just a few ideas of what you could do … 1 • Dec 18 Naturalist Center, 1–4pm Learn about the natural world using our “magic” tables or peruse an extensive collection of hands-on specimens, including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fishes,… Read More >

New dominant ant species discovered in Ethiopia shows potential for global invasion
November 22, 2016
RALEIGH, N.C. — A team of scientists conducting a recent biodiversity survey in the ancient church forests of Ethiopia made an unexpected discovery — a rather infamous ant species (Lepisiota canescens) displaying signs of supercolony formation. According to D. Magdalena Sorger, a post-doctoral researcher with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and a key… Read More >

Keratin and Melanosomes Preserved in 130-Million-Year-Old Bird Fossil
November 21, 2016
New research from North Carolina State University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Linyi University has found evidence of original keratin and melanosome preservation in a 130-million-year-old Eoconfuciusornis specimen. The work extends the timeframe in which original molecules may preserve, and demonstrates the ability to distinguish between ancient microstructures in fossils. Eoconfuciusornis, crow-sized primitive birds… Read More >

Museum’s Final Friday takes a closer look at “Those Naughty Germs” – Nov. 25
November 15, 2016
RALEIGH — Bacteria. We kill them with pills, spray them with bleach, and scrape them off our teeth every morning. But they also help digest our food, keep our crops healthy, and apparently they live in fancy yogurt. So how do you know the good from the bad? Enter the amazing world of germs when… Read More >

Museum hosts Fishel Town Hall discussion of E.O Wilson’s Half-Earth Project, Dec. 1
November 10, 2016
RALEIGH, N.C. — Our survival is inextricably entwined with the survival of all species that call our planet home, yet our current destructive trajectory is resulting in mass extinction of species and irreparable damage to our world. How do we change our current course and better conserve, or even serve, the natural world? Join WRAL… Read More >