North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences always offers free admission, but you might not be aware of the free and inexpensive events, beyond the exhibits, that it offers. You can view all their events here. Some are free and some have fees associated with them. Here are a few upcoming free and cheap events.
Make sure to check the location.
- Prairie Ridge Ecostation, 1671 Gold Star Drive, Raleigh
- Downtown Raleigh, 11 W. Jones Street, Raleigh
- Nature Research Center, 121 W. Jones Street, Raleigh
The museum has reopened, with timed tickets. The special events, however, are still online
Virtual Trivia Tuesdays
Every Tuesday (currently scheduled through October 27th, 2020)
6 p.m.
Free
Join North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences online for Virtual Trivia Tuesdays! Follow the above link to the Facebook event. This will contain links to play.
This is a great opportunity to virtually mingle with friends, compete for bragging rights and perhaps even learn something cool.
Questions feature a mix of science facts, current news, pop culture and scientific discoveries.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARTICIPATION:
After you register, you will need 2 browser windows or 2 devices to play. One for the livestream where you will receive the questions and one to select your answers within the Kahoot Quiz platform.
- To watch the live stream and follow the questions, go to the YouTube link we will email you when you register.
- To answer the questions and receive a score at the end, go to http://kahoot.it.
ON KAHOOT:
- Enter the game PIN, which we will give you on the YouTube screen once we go live.
- Click “Spin” to receive a username.
- Spin again for a different username or click to join the game.
- Select the correct answers or type in your answer as the question requires.
Virtual Science Cafe: Solve Our World’s Food Challenge
Thursday, October 8th, 2020
7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Free
Join us for the Virtual Science Cafe! “Grand Challenge: We Accept! How NC State University Plans to help Solve our World’s Food Challenge” with Steve Briggs. Watch live https://youtu.be/Dj2eKvJd_xI
With the world’s population growing by another 2 billion people by 2050, mankind must find ways to feed, clothe and fuel humanity’s needs. Through interdisciplinary plant research led by NC State University, we accept the challenge and plan to lead the science efforts.
The NC Plant Sciences Initiative will be anchored by a new building currently under construction on our Centennial Campus that will open in late 2021. The NC State University Plant Sciences Research Building will be a state-of-the-art plant research building that will attract the best talent that will discover new solutions to address the grand challenge of agriculture.
About the Speaker
Stephen Briggs is the Launch Director, Plant Sciences Initiative in the College of Ag and Life Sciences at NC State University.
Stephen has worked his whole career in the agricultural area with a BS degree from Michigan Tech University and an MS Degree in Entomology from Virginia Tech University. He joined NC State University in August of 2017 as the inaugural director for the NC Plant Sciences Initiative and leads the efforts of interdisciplinary science collaborations among faculty and private industry scientists.
Virtual Science Cafe: Earth Almanac with Ted Williams
Thursday, October 15th, 2020
7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Free
Join us for book club night at the Virtual Science Cafe!
Acclaimed author Ted Williams will talk about his latest book, “Earth Almanac: A Year of Witnessing the Wild, from the Call of the Loon to the Journey of the Gray Whale.” Watch live at https://youtu.be/ZvHu2uX5KMs
Ted Williams’ latest book, “Earth Almanac: A Year of Witnessing the Wild, from the Call of the Loon to the Journey of the Gray Whale,” is available from Quail Ridge books, and those who buy a copy will receive a signed bookplate.
https://www.quailridgebooks.com/book/9781635862836
Noted nature writer Ted Williams invites readers along on a year-long immersion in the wild and fleeting moments of the natural world, from winter candy and spring quackers to summer’s scarlet farewell and autumn reveilles.
This beautifully crafted collection of short, seasonal essays combines in-depth information with evocative descriptions of nature’s marvels and mysteries.
Williams explains the weather conditions that bring out the brightest reds in autumn leaves, how hungry wolf spiders catch their prey, and why American goldfinches wait until late July or August to build their nests. In the tradition of Thoreau, Carson, and Leopold, Ted Williams’s writing stands as a testament to the delicate balance of nature’s resilience and fragility, and inspires readers to experience the natural world for themselves and to become advocates for protecting and preserving the amazing diversity and activity found there.
About the Speaker:
Ted Williams writes full-time on fish and wildlife issues in a monthly “Recovery” column for The Nature Conservancy’s Cool Green Science and in various other publications. A longtime contributor to National Audubon Society magazine, Williams was recognized by the Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) as the nation’s best outdoor columnist and has received numerous other national writing and conservation awards. He serves as national chair of the Native Fish Coalition and lives in Grafton, Massachusetts.
Virtual Science Cafe: Drought Can Take Your Breath Away
Thursday, October 22nd, 2020
7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Free
Join us for the Virtual Science Cafe with Dr. Jordan Kern and a panel of experts for “Drought Can Take Your Breath Away.” Watch the live stream on YouTube at https://youtu.be/HASFmfgqcX4.
The complexity of the Earth’s systems coupled with our climate’s warming temperatures and the need of increasing populations for water and energy can often lead to large-scale environmental challenges.
Presently, production of electrical energy in many regions requires the use of significant amounts of water. Join us to learn how the occurrence of a drought can quickly impact how the grid works and result in an unexpected threat to the air we breathe.
Tonight, researchers from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and NC State University discuss a new research project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that aims to explore how drought, electric power systems and air quality interact to create periods of high human health risk (“bad air days”), and how these interactions will change as our climate changes in the future.
About the Speaker:
Jordan Kern is an assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University.
His research focuses on better understanding interactions between natural and human-engineered and economic systems. He uses computational modeling for the behavior of these connected systems to provide assessments of physical, environmental and financial risk. Kern obtained his bachelor’s degree in environmental science, and master’s degree and PhD in environmental sciences and engineering from UNC Chapel Hill.
Virtual Science Cafe: Survival of the Friendliest
Thursday, October 29th, 2020
7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Free
Join us for the Virtual Science Cafe with Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods to discuss their new book, “Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity.” Watch the live stream on YouTube at https://youtu.be/_P4M7F2OdNc.
For over a century in popular culture, “survival of the fittest” has been interpreted to mean that some human lives are more valuable than others. This misunderstanding of the central pillar of biology has been used to justify eugenics and colonialism, and today continues to shape authoritarian agendas, anti-immigration sentiment, and the slow response to COVID-19.
To Charles Darwin, and modern biologists, fitness was never meant to be confused with physical strength—much less a person, or a group of people’s moral worth. Fitness refers only to an organism’s success in reproducing; it was never meant to go further.
SURVIVAL OF THE FRIENDLIEST: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity (Random House; July 14, 2020), by scientists Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods, relies on the scientific definition of fitness and finds a surprising strategy that is key to our species’ success.
Adult Nights: Ghouls Night In
Friday, October 30th, 2020
6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Free
It’s Halloween!!! Save your candy, and trick ‘r treat with the big kids – Adult Night style. Put on your favorite costume and join us for a night of virtual thrills and chills at Ghouls Night In! Discover nocturnal creatures (dead, alive, and possibly the living dead). Curate your own collection in our home scavenger hunt. Play Spooky Trivia and our own horror howls edition of Name that Tune.
Costumes or festive attire encouraged!
You must be at least 21 years old to attend. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged! Donations help us keep research and science education going strong across all of North Carolina. We appreciate your support now more than ever.
Space is limited. Each registration = one unique device login. Once you complete your registration, you will receive an email with instructions on how to join the program.
SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES
- 6:30pm: Quarantine-o-ween Collection Expedition
Curate your own Museum at Home with the Quarantine-o-ween Collection Expedition. We’ll send you the scavenger hunt list at 6:30, you gather the goods, and we’ll meet to discuss and show off our coolest collectables at 7pm. - 7:40pm: Featured Cocktail TBD
- 7:50pm: Owl Bomb! Piedmont Wildlife Center. Meet a live owl ambassador from the Piedmont Wildlife Center, debunk common owl myths and discover the fascinating world of these nocturnal hunters.
- 8pm: Scream, Screech and Roar. Discover the real animal grunts, growls and guffaws behind your favorite big screen sound f/x in our horror howls edition of Name That Tune.
- 8:15pm: Bring Out Your Dead (Rat) Join Research Curator Dr. Mike Cove as he walks us through the process of preparing a study skin for the Museum’s Research Collection.
- 8:35pm: Trivia. Do you have the guts to answer some of the spookiest questions around? Test your knowledge on creepy creatures and customs.
- 8:45pm: TBD
More virtual events
Check out our big list of upcoming virtual events, or look at a few of them here:Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Friday, October 30, 2020
Saturday, October 31, 2020
Sunday, November 1, 2020
Monday, November 2, 2020
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Friday, November 6, 2020
Saturday, November 7, 2020
Sunday, November 8, 2020
Monday, November 9, 2020
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Virtual
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