LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences

Resources for learning about natural North Carolina including animals, snakes, insects and ecosystems.

http://www.naturalsciences.org/

Learn more

  • North Carolina Geological Survey Explore the geological maps of North Carolina, learn about the minerals that can be found there, and check out the questions that students are asking geologists.
  • Hooper Virtual Natural History Museum A collection of virtual exhibits created by Canadian college students that explore topics such as fossils, dinosaurs, archaeology, climate change, and more.
  • Biodiversity: It Takes All Kinds to Make a World Uses activities to introduce students to different kinds of biodiversity, ecosystems, endangered species, and how they they can help be a keeper of Earth.
  • Lesson plan: Introduction to natural selection This hands-on activity demonstrates how populations change little by little, generation by generation, due to survival of species that have traits that are beneficial in an environment.
  • Lesson plan: Animal adaptations Students participate in classroom discussions about animals.
  • Lesson plan: Marine sanctuaries Students learn about the national marine sanctuaries found in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and off the coast of American Samoa.

Related pages

  • Jones Lake State Park: A visit to Jones Lake Park not only teaches students about the habitats and animals that can be found there, but also the phenomenon of the Carolina Bays is explored.
  • New River State Park: Visit New River State Park and discover its unspoiled beauty as well as the flora and fauna of the area.
  • Stevens Nature Center at Hemlock Bluffs: Provides information about the natural history of the Hemlocks Bluff Nature Preserve and the plants and animals that live there.

Related topics

Legal

This page copyright ©2008. Terms of use

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences website features a glimpse inside the museum and some of the happenings behind the scenes. Natural science information and educational activities are continually updated, with new features to explore.

Educators and students travel from all over North Carolina to Raleigh to visit the museum. Now, details for planning field trips to the museum are available on the Web site. The Educators section of the Web site contains information on a wide variety of programs available from the museum for use in schools as well as professional development opportunities for teachers.

In the FunStuff section of the site, you will find the N.C. State Symbols page, with audio clips and links that provide all you need to know about, for example, the state reptile, the Eastern box turtle. Virtual field trips allow students to travel to six major North Carolina habitats and visit with N.C. Natural Treasures. You can even consult a naturalist to get expert answers to your questions!

The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences opened its new museum in 2000 and is located in downtown Raleigh. The museum documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications, and educational programming. The museum has exhibits on birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and wetlands, as well as a Monarch Butterfly Tagging Program. The Museum of Natural Sciences is an agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and as a state resource is open free to the public.

See: A Virtual Visit to the NC State Museum of Natural Sciences.

Professional development offerings

Our Mission is to enhance the public’s understanding and appreciation of the environment in ways that emphasize the diversity of North Carolina and the southeastern region and relate the region to the world as a whole. Our professional development opportunities try to reach teachers with a wide variety of comfort levels - from the teacher who is not comfortable outside (who might participate in a program on bluebirds) to someone who prefers to be outside (and might participate in a overnight canoe trip along the Roanoke River). We provide activities and resource materials that will support the use of the experience in the classroom.

  • Workshops typically serve fewer than 20 educators per session.
  • Offerings are based on classroom strategies and subject matter content.
  • Sessions offered almost exclusively in the field or in a hands-on experience. We take teachers into natural areas and give them the skills to use the outdoors as a teaching tool.
  • Follow-up activities include a required evaluation of the professional development session with electronic follow-up.
  • Materials are included in the cost of the workshops.
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