Must-See Museums

Discovery At The Museum Of Life And Science

You’re standing near a flowing stream, surrounded by rainforest trees, when suddenly you realize that your heart isn’t the only thing that’s aflutter. So are the colorful wings of over 1,000 tropical butterflies.

Welcome to the Magic Wings Butterfly House – a three-story tropical conservatory that’s just one of the remarkable attractions housed in the Museum of Life and Science. Recognized internationally for its educational programs – as well as for the innovative design of its facilities – the Museum represents perhaps the finest combination of nature, hands-on science exploration and just plain fun you’ll find anywhere.

Not far from the Butterfly House, for example, you and your family can see the most comprehensive collection of living North Carolina wildlife in the area – including owls, snakes, turtles, bats, alligators, an opossum, a skunk and a woodchuck. Elsewhere, you can investigate the surprising properties of dinosaur fossils, gems, minerals and other rocks.

In the "Life’s Devices" section of the building, you can make a school of fish change direction, experiment with wing shapes in a wind tunnel, and touch real animal skulls – all as a way to learn about the adaptations that help animals survive.

Another fun thing to explore is the Museum’s Tree House, where you can feel the fur of a bear, observe bees making honey, even sit beside a human skeleton. Out in the Nature Park, you’ll encounter some living, breathing black bears, along with endangered red wolves and birds of prey.

And in the Aerospace section, you’ll discover what it takes to travel to the moon and back. You can also climb into an Apollo command module test vehicle, see Neil Armstrong’s isolation suit and launch a Space Shuttle model.

In Scientifica, you can take apart computers, VCRs and other machines to see how they work.

Then visit Data Earth where you’re free to design buildings that can withstand an earthquake, examine computer models of environmental trends, or dance in a full-body virtual reality exhibit.

The museum also participates in the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan and usually has red wolves on exhibit. With all of these fun exhibits to choose from, take some time and enjoy yourself, no mater what your age or interest.

added: December 29, 2008

updated: February 4, 2009