Glowing Waterdogs and Farting Rivers: A Duke Forest Research Tour
February 12, 2024
Jonny Behrens looks for aquatic macroinvertebrates with Duke Forest Research Tour participants. By Sophie Cox We walked down a short trail by the creek, and the tour split into two groups. Our group walked farther along the stream to meet two herpetologists studying the elusive dwarf waterdog. Bryan Stuart, Ph.D., Research Curator of Herpetology at… Read More >
Connecting With Nature: An Interview With Dr. Denise Young
January 29, 2024
The new director of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences approaches the experience at Raleigh’s state-of-the-art institution with an educator’s mind. by Lori D. R. Wiggins | photography by Rob Hammer In June, Dr. Denise Young became the executive director of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, including its flagship location downtown and four… Read More >
Burning fields brings new life to Raleigh ecostation
January 22, 2024
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Fields at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh were on fire Thursday, but for good reason. “It’s used as a management technique to take what’s above the ground, burn it back,” explains Emma Blackford, head of the Ecostation. “It exposes seeds and it adds nutrients to the soil through the ash… Read More >
Asteroids and meteorites abound at Museum’s Astronomy Days event, Feb. 3-4
January 17, 2024
[RALEIGH, N.C.] — It’s time for lift off when the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences hosts Astronomy Days, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 3–4, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Go on a celestial adventure that explores the wonders of the universe through technology, telescopes, engaging talks and plenty of hands-on activities. This year the Museum highlights asteroids… Read More >
Video: This beetle hunts with a sticky harpoon!
December 13, 2023
Dr. Adrian Smith, head of the Museum’s Evolutionary Biology & Behavior Research Lab, says of his latest video: I finally found and filmed a Stenus beetle! These rove beetles are famous for hunting springtails by using a projectile mouthpart (a modified labium) with sticky pads at the end. I collected the individual in this… Read More >