NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is a great place to take kids! It is a very attractive, modern museum, with impressive architecture and exhibits. Check out the huge whale skeleton! There is a tank with big silver fish and cute little fish. A wavy LED display talks about Cree, the local company that first developed LEDs that give off natural light. Exhibits about the coast show seagulls, crabs, and limpets. There are forest exhibits with stuffed animals such as a beaver and baby black bear. Try to spot the Venus Fly Trap plants and green frogs in a tank. There are some interactive areas such as Discovery Lab, and most displays have something kids can do such as lift a flap. Little kids might need more things to manipulate in general, and kids might bore of the information plaques that don't have any real items to look at.
To get to the other building, walk the glass concourse.
Also, cross the pedestrian plaza to see the North Carolina Museum of History, a fantastic state-of-the-art museum for older kids.
Also, if you have kids, check out Marbles Kids Museum.
Six minutes drive to the west, walk around the central park of Raleigh, Pullen Park. You can ride a carousel, a mini train, kiddie boats, or paddle boats! The playground is also awesome.
After, eat at Brewerks Cafe, in an adorable neighborhood of Victorian homes nearby- easy parking! Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Or drive four minutes west to Morgan Street- older kids will enjoy the classy under-the-sea atmosphere inside Irregardless Cafe.
Exhibit about LED lighting and the homegrown company, Cree.
LED lights!
Whale skeleton.
Rescue dog.
Turtle and fish.
Pretty lighting.
Carolina Emporer Emerald.
Fish looking innocent.
Whale skeleton downstairs.
Model of an ice core from Greenland, which holds 108,000 years of weather history.
The building is amazing!
Colorful exhibits.
The globe outside.
Giant globe which is part of the building.
Impressive globe!
Pedestrian walkway that joins the two buildings.
Attractive display.
Ancestral Great White shark teeth.
Beach scene.
Cute plaque teaching about turtles.
Whelk shells, crab exoskeleton, barnacles encrusting a bottle, sargassum weeds, and mermaid's purse.
Brown shrimp. I love this guy!
Granite with feldspar and sediments with feldspar.
49 carat blue sapphire, 103 carat ruby with six point star.
Amethyst crystals on matrix.
Longnose gar.
Deer.
Looking down at a pretty exhibit.
Globe on the building.
The side of the museum (on the left), and NC General Assembly building straight ahead.
Looking toward the North Carolina State Capital, from the plaza between NC Museum of Natural Sciences and NC Museum of History.
Amazing rock, displayed in the pedestrian bridge between the two sides of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.
Gorgeous rocks, displayed in the pedestrian bridge between the two sides of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.
Exhibit about DNA.
A family checks out a show, which is projected onto the inside of the globe.
A science experiment that you can see in action.
NC Museum of Natural Sciences is located at 11 W Jones St, Raleigh, NC 27601. There is metered parking along the street.
Entrance is free!
Open Mon-Sat 9-5, Sun 12-5.
Last Updated: Fri, 01 Mar 2019 13:56:55 GMT
Text and Image copyright: © 2006-2025 LotsaFunMaps.com.
Copying prohibited. Contact the editor |
Facebook |
Pinterest |
Instagram
Blog |
The Official Mug |
Privacy Settings |
About Us
