NEWS

The house sparrow is a highly invasive pest in North Carolina, and bluebird enthusiasts frequently throw their eggs out and remove their nests to keep them from overtaking the nest boxes that bluebirds call home. A new study puts those discarded eggs to use in detecting heavy metal contaminants in bluebird habitats, which often border… Read More >

The North Carolina Wildlife Federation has announced the winners of its 61st Annual Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards and Dr. Arthur E. Bogan — research curator of mollusks for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences — was named Natural Resources Scientist of the Year. Honorees for 2026 include agency professionals, elected officials, volunteers and organizations… Read More >

Newly published fossil specimens discovered by an international team of scientists, including the Museum’s Research Curator of Paleontology Dr. Christian Kammerer, are greatly expanding our knowledge of life at the ancient equator. The early Permian Period, roughly 285 million years ago, was a time of change for life on Earth: increased glaciation at the South… Read More >

Don’t miss your chance to explore your interests, build valuable skills, and be part of a community that turns curiosity into action. The Museum offers opportunities for middle- and high-school students to dive deeper into a variety of science topics. Through hands-on program experiences, volunteers can connect what they’re learning in school to careers, current… Read More >

If you look close enough at the shell of a turtle, you might discover something you didn’t expect. Placobdella ali is a species of North American leech known to parasitize freshwater turtles, most often the common snapping turtle. The species was originally described in 2007 from specimens collected at Silver Mine Lake in New York… Read More >