Museum hosts “Extreme Mammals” grand opening Sept. 26
For immediate release ‐ September 14, 2015
Contact: Jon Pishney, 919.707.8083. Images available upon request
RALEIGH — What’s extreme about mammals? How about a four-ton tongue? A tooth bigger than you? A bumblebee-sized bat? Visit the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences for the grand opening of its new special exhibition, “Extreme Mammals: The Biggest, Smallest and Most Amazing Mammals of All Time” on Saturday, September 26 from 10am to 4pm. Enjoy live mammal encounters with a bat-eared fox, wooly possum, fruit bat and more. Plus, hear scientists talk about their latest research on meerkats, lemurs and shrews.
Presentation Schedule
11am: Exhibition opens to the public.
11:30am: “The Mighty Shrews”
Lisa Gatens and Ben Hess, Mammal Unit Staff, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
The mighty mini-mammals known as shrews are a fairly diverse group with a worldwide total of about 375 species. Some exhibit Herculean strength, some are champion swimmers, and some are venomous. All are voracious predators, though most weigh less than an ounce. Join us for the Top Ten Shrew Facts and distribution of venomous shrews in North Carolina.
1pm: “Extreme(ly cute) Mammals: Baby Lemurs!”
Chris Smith, Education Specialist, Duke Lemur Center
They fight with stinky smells, some hibernate for 9 months and others can jump 30 feet. Lemurs are extreme mammals. They are also extremely cute. Smith will take you into the world of Madagascar’s lemurs and talk about some of the Lemur Center’s most adorable lemurs, including King Julien’s royal family.
2:30pm: “MOBSTERS! Meerkat Life and Death in the Kalahari”
Jessica Hoffman-Balder, Curator of Birds & Mammals, Greensboro Science Center
Hoffman-Balder will illustrate some of the daily struggles that meerkats face living with their extended relatives (also known as a mob) within the Kalahari Desert of Africa. Learn about hunting strategies, predator defense, adaptations developed for life in a harsh climate, and the importance of a close family to survive it all.
About “Extreme Mammals”
“Extreme Mammals” explores the diversity, ancestry and evolution of numerous species, ranging from huge to tiny, from speedy to sloth-like. The exhibition features spectacular fossils, vivid reconstructions and life-like models—including a 15-foot-high touchable model of the extinct Indricotherium, the largest known land mammal.
The exhibition also features a hands-on interactive illuminating the extremely diverse locomotions that have evolved among mammals, such as walking, hopping, gliding, swimming and flying. Visitors can control the speed of an animation to get a closer look at exactly how mammals propel themselves across land, air and sea. Clues about a divergence from a shared quadruped past can be found in the model of Ambulocetus, a prehistoric ancestor of whales, also known as the “walking whale.” The remnants of hind legs inherited from this land-dweller can be seen in modern whale skeletons.
Through dynamic displays, touchable fossils, taxidermied specimens and more, the exhibition explores many extraordinary mammalian traits such as headgear, teeth, tails and reproduction. The Museum is contributing touchable artifacts and models from its own collection to create a tactile “mammal moment” for visitors. Or you can solve a puzzle of fur, footprints and (model) feces to find out which mammal’s artifacts you’re holding.
Exhibition ticket prices: FREE for Members
$15 for Adults; $10 for Children (3-12); $13 for Students, Seniors and Military.
Tickets are available online at naturalsciences.org/extreme or at the Museum Box Office.