NC Science Museum

Being home to a number of intellectual people (being home to the most scientific and liberal minds of the University of North Carolina and the place where the Research Triangle resides), it's no surprise that North Carolina has a number of science museums that are always open to welcome people and use their key which leads to unveiling of new knowledge. Here are some of the most visited science museums in the state.

Located at Market Street in Wilmington is The Cape Fear Museum of History and Science. Aside from being a science museum, it is actually known as the oldest history museum in North Carolina when it was founded in 1898. It features a wide array of relics and other artifacts that currently reached up to 50,000, which includes photographs, items and tools, would also help visitors unearth and understand the science and culture of the Lower Cape fear region. Among its featured exhibits are the "Cape Fear Seashells," a vast collection of rare and common seashells in the area, "Ocean: Explore and Discover," an interactive museum that leads visitors to the most recent research projects on the ocean, "Wilmington's Giant Ground Sloth" skeleton which shows a replica of skeleton of what was believed, the oldest creature that lived in the Cape Fear Region, about 1.5 million years ago.

SciWorks in Winston-Salem was formed to promote literacy and appreciation of the sciences in the most innovative and fun way of learning it. The museum includes 25,000 square feet of exhibits, 15-acre environmental park, 119-seat planetarium, 143-seat auditorium and a number of collections and special programs that caters not only to children but to older audiences as well. Exhibits include "Mountain to Sea" which presents the geographical diversity of the state, "Collections" which include specimens and fossils, "Science Lab," "Millennium Foundation," "Bioworks," "Soundworks" and more. The Planetarium, on the other hand, is located in a 50-foot dome that puts visitors in a realistic simulation of the night sky that welcomes everyone to the recent advancements of astronomy. Programs in the planetarium differ from preschool to adult level.

Another important museum is the Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia. It features the natural wonders of North America and North Carolina that helps to promulgate awareness of nature among people. Collections in the museum include natural specimens and cultural artifacts while the exhibits are categorized accordingly. The Hall of North Carolina Natural History pictures the diversity of life: from the coastline to the mountains. The Hall of North American Habitats pictures animal life in the most extreme locations, from ocean floors, to deserts, to tundra. Other exhibits in the area are the Hall of North American Wildlife, the Elizabeth Hall of Earth and Man and the Henry Hall of the American Indian.

Other science museums in North Carolina are Catawba Science Center in Hickory, Colburn Earth Science Museum in Asheville, Museum of Coastal Carolina in Ocean Isle Beach, Natural Science Center of Greensboro, North Carolina Museum of Life and Science and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.