{"id":6745,"date":"2016-03-01T16:56:10","date_gmt":"2016-03-01T21:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/?post_type=news&p=6745"},"modified":"2016-04-05T14:44:16","modified_gmt":"2016-04-05T19:44:16","slug":"museums-extreme-mammals-exhibition-now-in-its-final-weeks","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/news\/museums-extreme-mammals-exhibition-now-in-its-final-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"Museum\u2019s \u201cExtreme Mammals\u201d exhibition now in its final weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"

RALEIGH \u2014 Through March 27, visitors can explore the surprising and sometimes bizarre world of \u201cExtreme Mammals: The Biggest, Smallest, and Most Amazing Mammals of All Time<\/a>,\u201d the current featured exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Inspect oversized claws, massive fangs, extraordinary snouts, amazing horns, and other traits that make these mammals truly remarkable.\u00a0Uncover the characteristic that links humans to more than 5,400 wonderfully weird living species, and discover how we might be the most extreme mammal of them all.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s extreme about mammals? How about a four-ton tongue? A tooth bigger than you? A bumblebee-sized bat? Usually we call something \u201cextreme\u201d when it departs signi\ufb01cantly from the normal, average or ancestral condition. But what\u2019s normal? This exhibition explores the diversity, ancestry and evolution of numerous species, ranging from huge to tiny, from speedy to sloth-like. Featuring spectacular fossils, vivid reconstructions and life-like models\u2014including a 15-foot-high touchable model of the extinct Indricotherium<\/em>, the largest known land mammal.<\/p>\n

\u201cExtreme Mammals\u201d also illuminates 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 (four-footed) past can be found in the model of Ambulocetus<\/em>, a prehistoric ancestor of whales, also known as the \u201cwalking whale.\u201d Kids can touch fossils, fur and models of several mammal species or climb into the armored shell of a glyptodont, an extinct mammal related to modern armadillos.<\/p>\n

Visitors also have the unique opportunity to experience eMammal research first-hand. This internationally known project, based out of the Museum\u2019s Biodiversity Research Lab, helps scientists monitor wildlife populations through motion-sensor-activated cameras, called \u201ccamera traps.\u201d Dare to enter the exhibition\u2019s forest scene and you, too, may get \u201ccaught\u201d in a camera trap. Visitors can then learn more about getting involved with eMammal and monitoring wildlife in their own community.<\/p>\n

Exhibition tickets are available online at naturalsciences.org and at the Museum Box Office (onsite and via 919.707.9950). Prices: $15 for Adults, $10 for Children (3-10), Free to Museum Members. Take advantage of the Museum\u2019s Exhibition Bundle deal by adding a 3D movie ticket for only $1. Or join the Museum to get yourself and your family in for free.<\/p>\n

\u201cExtreme Mammals\u201d was organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in collaboration with the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco; Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada; and Cleveland Museum of Natural History.<\/p>\n

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The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences<\/em><\/strong> (11 W. Jones St. and 121 W. Jones St.) in downtown Raleigh is an active research institution that engages visitors of every age and stage of learning in the wonders of science and the natural world, drawing them into the intriguing fields of study that are critical to the future of North Carolina. Hours: Mon.- Sat., 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sun., noon-5 p.m. Visit the Museum online at www.naturalsciences.org<\/a>. Emlyn Koster, PhD, Museum Director; Susan Kluttz, Secretary<\/em>, <\/strong>N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources; Pat McCrory, Governor.<\/em><\/p>\n

The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources<\/em><\/strong> (NCDNCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state’s natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan Kluttz, NCDNCR’s mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state’s history, conserving the state’s natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development. NCDNCR includes 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, two science museums, three aquariums and Jennette’s Pier, 39 state parks and recreation areas, the N.C. Zoo, the nation’s first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, State Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology, along with the Division of Land and Water Stewardship. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visit www.ncdcr.gov<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1814,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/6745"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/6745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}