NEWS

Panoramic view from the top of Rich Mountain Bald (within Tater Hill Plant Preserve). Grandfather Mountain and the ski slopes can be seen in the background. Photo: Matt C. Estep. By Sophia Kirn, Senior at Appalachian State University and Naturalist Center Intern As a student at Appalachian State University, one of the biggest pastimes I… Read More >

Dr. Adrian Smith, Head of the Museum’s Evolutionary Biology & Behavior Lab, is out with a new video! The YouTube sensation filmed slow motion flight and time-lapse sequences of tropical butterflies emerging from their pupae, and taking flight, and gives a behind-the-scenes tour of our walk-in tropical dry forest exhibit. Check out naturalsciences.org/planyourvisit for info… Read More >

Artistic rendering of a protoplanetary disk around a forming star, in combination with future planets and disk “leftovers”: the asteroids and comets. Disks can take at least one million years to form a planetary system. Credit: NASA/FUSE/Lynette Cook. How unusual is the Earth compared to other planets in the Galaxy? What are the chemical pathways… Read More >

Dr. Adrian Smith, Head of the Museum’s Evolutionary Biology & Behavior Research Lab, has produced a new video of insects in flight inspired by a pioneering book from the mid-70s. The video also celebrates Smith reaching 100,000 subscribers to his Ant Lab YouTube channel! A viewer sent Smith a copy of “Borne on the Wind:… Read More >

Jan Weems, the Museum’s Head of Early Childhood & Elementary Education, has received a 2021 Governor’s Award for Excellence for her work to facilitate the establishment of the Gold Classroom Virtual Studio. Weems worked with a team from the Education, Exhibits & Digital Media, Facilities and Living Collections sections under challenging and constantly changing conditions… Read More >