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Saturday, September 11
- 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- BugFest 2010 (map)
- NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh
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The nation’s biggest and most popular “buggy” event brings you amazing exhibits, fun activities, and compound-eye-popping shows. Gobble up delicious bug filled delicacies at the Cafe Insecta, view beautiful and bizarre live animals, bet on racing roaches or dance to live music! BugFest 2010 will be on Jones Street, The Plaza, Edenton Street, and all four floors of the Museum will be filled with buggy fun!
* Enjoy the entertaining displays, exhibits and activities — both inside and outside the Museum.
* Learn about arthropods, which make up three-quarters of all animals on Earth, during fascinating presentations.
* Taste delectable dishes featuring creepy crawlers as a major ingredient at Café Insecta.
* Join the moths, fireflies and katydids for an exhilarating evening of nocturnal activities at the Evening Insectival.
* Beekeeping Workshop
* Bring an unusual bug to the Stump the Experts tableThis year’s theme bugs are Aquatic Bugs!
- Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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- 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
- Guided Bird Walk (map)
- Jackson Park, Hendersonville
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Stroll with bird enthusiasts of the Henderson County Bird Club. Walks typically run approximately one and a half hours. Meet in front of Jackson Park Administration Building.
- Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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- 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- The Guilty Strawberry (map)
- Public school classrooms throughout Beaufort, Washington, Hyde, and Tyrrell counties, hosted by Beaufort County Community College
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Students work in groups to extract DNA from a strawberry in quantities that can be wound around a wooden stick and examined without the aid of a microscope. They learn what “biotechonology” is and what is happening in North Carolina’s biotechnology labs and industry. Length: 15-60 minutes,as needed by classroom teacher. The workshop can be held any day throughout the Festival. How to schedule: Contact Ana McClanahan at anamcc@beaufortccc.edu
Middle and high school students from Beaufort, Washington, Hyde, and Tyrrell counties will be invited to participate through their school administrators. Science instructors should contact Ana McClanahan at anamcc@beaufortccc.edu to schedule a time in their classroom for this hands-on lab and biotech presentation.
- Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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- 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
- Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project: Farm to School Workshop (map)
- Shelton Family Farm, Whittier
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A workshop designed for pre-service teachers and dietitians, as well as teachers in the classroom and dietitians in the field. Participants will learn about the components of farm to school – school gardens, farm field trip, classroom cooking and locally grown food in the school cafeteria – and how to integrate these activities into the curriculum and in the cafeteria. The workshop will conclude with a locally grown lunch.
Please contact Molly Nicholie, molly@asapconnections.org or call 828-236-1282.
Space is limited so contact us soon! - Event Web site
- Cost: $10
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- 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m.
- NC Mountain State Fair (map)
- WNC Agricultural Center, Fletcher
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WNC Agricultural Center, the third largest fair in North Carolina, celebrates the heritage of the Blue Ridge mountains, including agriculture, music, crafts, art, food, entertainment, display of livestock, competitions, and midway amusement rides. The NC Mountain State Fair runs September 10-19, 2010.
- Event Web site
- Cost: $7 for adults/ $3 children 6-12/ children 5 and under free
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- 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
- Citizen Ash Tree Mapping (map)
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee
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As a citizen science volunteer, you’ll spend a morning in the field with a park ranger learning to identify ash and other common trees found in the Smoky Mountains, use a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit to map ash in forest plots, and measure trees. The ash trees are at risk from the invasive, non-native Emerald Ash Borer, a beetle that can travel undetected in firewood and nursery stock from quarantined areas of the country into new locations in the park. Data you collect will help park staff map the locations of ash trees parkwide to monitor the health of the forest and detect future infestations.
You should be prepared to hike up to 5 miles on park trails and in rough terrain off main paths. It is highly recommended that you wear long pants and comfortable closed-toe shoes or boots for hiking, and to protect yourself against poison ivy, ticks, and thorny plants. We’ll be outside enjoying the forest for several hours so bring a lunch, water, sunscreen, and rain gear. Reservations are necessary and participation is limited to 16 people. Families are welcome–children 12 and under must bring an adult. Pre-register by contacting Susan at susan_simpson@nps.gov or 865.436.1200 x762.
Meet at the Oconaluftee Visitors Center.
- Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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- 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
- Duke Homestead Tobacco Harvest and Arts Festival (map)
- Duke Homestead State Historic Site and Tobacco Museum, Durham
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Cultural and arts festival centered around tobacco harvesting, curing and related activities in the fields and at the barn. Browse local artists’ wares all day. In the morning, see costumed interpreters demonstration tobacco harvesting, stringing and curing. In the afternoon, hear the sounds of the only tobacco auction left in Durham. Throughout the day, enjoy the hornworm race, MoonPie eating contest, musical entertainment, refreshments and much more.
- Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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- 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
- Ocean Adventure (map)
- Cape Fear Museum of History and Science, Wilmington
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Learning Center: Ocean Adventure
What is an aquanaut? Discover the answer to this question and more as you explore ocean science. Learn why the estuary is called the “ocean’s nursery.” Examine local shells and learn about North Carolina’s state shell. Find out why starfish are not fish at all! Use various magnification tools to examine sea life up close.Appropriate for children ages 5 to 12. Parental participation is required.
- Event Web site
- Cost: Free with museum admission.
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- 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Heroes, Villains, and Special Effects (map)
- Museum of Life and Science, Durham
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Get ready to experience the ultimate science of entertainment event! Engage with top gaming companies including Redstorm Entertainment, Epic Games, Virtual Heroes, Playdom/Merscom, Atomic Games and Republic of Fun. Meet with film industry experts and take part in a staged combat demonstration. Emmy award winning makeup artist Dean Jones, Star Wars characters from Carolina 501st Garrison and other exhibitors will also be present.
- Event Web site
- Cost: pre-registered groups $4; Adults $12.50; Seniors and Military with ID $10.50; ages 3 - 12 $9.50; under 3 free
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- 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- The Science and Art of Wine making (map)
- Shelton Vineyards, Dobson
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Tour a state-of-the-art working winery and learn about the art and science of wine making in North Carolina. Tour will end with a tasting of 5 wines (must be 21 years of age to sample) and participants will receive a souvenir glass. Tours start every thirty minutes from 10 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. daily.
- Event Web site
- Cost: $5.00 per person
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- 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
- Family Fun Day: Project Nature’s Art (map)
- North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro
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Join the North Carolina Zoo for making abstract designs out of natural materials in the kidZone region of the park. Activities designed for pre-school age children.
- Event Web site
- Cost: Free with zoo admission.
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- 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
- Carnivorous Plant Hike (map)
- Carolina Beach State Park, Carolina Beach
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Take a hike with a park ranger and learn about the fascinating world of carnivorous plants that grow at Carolina Beach State Park. See plants that “bite back” such as sundews, bladderworts, butterworts, pitcher plants, and the Venus fly trap. Meet at the Nature Trail Parking Lot at 10:00 a.m. For more information call 910-458-8206.
- Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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- 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
- Explore More Life Lab at Discovery Place (map)
- Discovery Place, Charlotte
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Immerse yourselves in our Explore More Life Lab, which is an interactive biology wet lab, featuring a touch tank with live animals from the ocean, fascinating focus stations, and a hands-on unit, featuring Insects during the month of September. Learn how insects eat, make noise, move, and how they differ from other bugs, such as spiders. Have fun creatively experimenting while you learn about these creepy crawlies.
- Event Web site
- Cost: Free with museum admission.
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- 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
- Rocks and Minerals (map)
- Bur-Mil Park Wildlife Education Center, Greensboro
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Learn about rocks and minerals and do a little gem mining.
- Event Web site
- Cost: $5.00 per person
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- 10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
- A World Apart (map)
- Discovery Place, Charlotte
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Learn about the tropical rainforest ecosystem and the species that call it home during “A World Apart”.
Get acquainted with a variety of species that call the rainforest habitat home and explore the unique features that help them thrive in this one-of-a-kind environment. Keep your eye out for the ball python, a constrictor that uses its 200 vertebra to twist and turn around the rainforest exhibit. You also could meet an iguana hailing from Central and South America that uses its third eye to sense the presence of predators – and friendly Museum visitors.
Step in to a world where the seasons change from hot to hotter, frogs roam freely and a 20-year old blue and gold macaw looks on as you experience the wonders of the tropical rainforest.
- Event Web site
- Cost: Free with museum admission.
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- 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
- SciWorks Planetarium Shows (map)
- SciWorks Science Center, Winston-Salem
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SciWorks planetarium offers several shows throughout the day for various age groups. We also present a live sky tour of the current night sky. Shows and times vary daily so please call ahead. First show at 11:00 a.m. Last show at 3:00 p.m. Several shows daily.
- Event Web site
- Cost: Free with museum admission.
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- 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- Live Animal Encounter (map)
- North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, Manteo
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Come face to face with alligators, snakes, sea turtles and many other live animals in Neptune’s Theater. This program is featured everyday at 11:30 a.m.
- Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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- 11:45 a.m. – 12:40 p.m.
- September Fall Fun! “Physics Mania” (map)
- Imagination Station Science Museum, Wilson
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Visitors will learn about Sir Issac Newton’s three laws of motion, participate in hands-on activities, and build an electromagnet! Visitors of all ages are welcome to this FREE event at Imagination Station Science Museum located in Historic Downtown Wilson.
- Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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- 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
- The Miller’s Apprentice Program: Hand-Mills and Millstones (map)
- Historic Yates Mill County Park, Raleigh
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Children will learn about millstones – tools that grind grains and mill other raw materials into usable products, and then will grind corn themselves using a mortar-and-pestle, saddle-stone, quern, and other hand mills. Pre-registration is required. Ages: 8 & over.
- Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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- 2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
- Big Boss Brewery Tour (map)
- Big Boss Brewing Company, Raleigh
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Our brewery tours take place the second Saturday of each month at 2pm. No reservations are required. The tour is guided by our staff of brewers and will take you through our entire facility as you learn about the beer making process. This takes 30-40 minutes (depending on how many people attend). The tour is free. Sample brews are available for $1 each up to three. Please allow extra time for parking! Please bring valid ID – 21 and over!
- Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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- 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
- Yates Mill Heritage Tours (map)
- Historic Yates Mill County Park, Raleigh
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*One-Hour Mill Heritage Tours* are available most weekend afternoons from Mar – Nov, on Saturdays and Sundays from 2:00-3:00pm, including September 11-12 and 25-26: Explore the mill’s business & social history. View a brief slide show then take a guided tour. Explore how power is transferred from the water wheel to the milling machinery. Pre-registration is not required, but is encouraged for groups of 10 or more people.
- Event Web site
- Cost: $5/adult, $3/seniors and children (but those age 6 & under are free)
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- 2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
- What’s Glowing On? (map)
- Discovery Place, Charlotte
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Grab a seat at “The Stage” and discover the science behind luminescent and incandescent light. By the time the show is over, you’ll be an expert on all that shines.
Put yourself in the spotlight as a contestant in the “Will it Glow?” game show, hosted by one of the Museum’s brightest scientists. Explore the materials that make things glow and take a closer look at items such as the artwork of Vincent Van ‘Glow’ to watch them shine. The show does ‘lights out’ with a BANG! — get a front row seat to the explosive qualities of light.
- Event Web site
- Cost: Free with museum admission.
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- 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
- Home School Series: Orienteering (map)
- McDowell Nature Center, Charlotte
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For home schoolers ages 12-15. We will learn the basic essentials of using a map and compass. We will learn what a topographical map is, how to read the map, and how to get from one location to another within the preserve. Please call 704-588-5224 for more info or to register.
- Event Web site
- Cost: $3
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- 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
- Meet the Animals (map)
- NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh
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From alligators to opossums, come face-to-face with a new live animal each week.
Upcoming Topics
Sept. 11: Insects & Arthropods
Sept.12: Turtles
Sept. 13: What do I eat?
Sept. 14-17: Nocturnal Animals
Sept. 18-19: Turtles
Sept. 20-24: Alligators
Sept. 25-26: Turtles - Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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- 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
- Science on a Sphere Program (map)
- North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, Manteo
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See the Earth like never before with an educational program on our three dimensional sphere at Oceans Revealed. Every day at 2:30 p.m.
- Event Web site
- Cost: Free with paid admission.
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- 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
- A World Apart (map)
- Discovery Place, Charlotte
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Learn about the tropical rainforest ecosystem and the species that call it home during “A World Apart”.
Get acquainted with a variety of species that call the rainforest habitat home and explore the unique features that help them thrive in this one-of-a-kind environment. Keep your eye out for the ball python, a constrictor that uses its 200 vertebra to twist and turn around the rainforest exhibit. You also could meet an iguana hailing from Central and South America that uses its third eye to sense the presence of predators – and friendly Museum visitors.
Step in to a world where the seasons change from hot to hotter, frogs roam freely and a 20-year old blue and gold macaw looks on as you experience the wonders of the tropical rainforest.
- Event Web site
- Cost: Free with museum admission.
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- 4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- Sub Zero (map)
- Discovery Place, Charlotte
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Join our resident physicist at the “The Stage” to chill out and explore a world below freezing. With materials so cold they can only be touched with cryogenic gloves, you’re in for an icy treat!
The star of the show is liquid nitrogen – a unique element that’s so cold, when poured out of its tank in a room temperature setting; it turns to gas before even hitting the floor – giving you the chance to frolic in a nitrogen cloud. You’ll watch as it makes a surgical glove as delicate as glass, takes the bounce out of a bouncy ball and causes a penny to shatter with one strike of a hammer.
Learn more frosty facts about this important element at “Sub Zero”.
- Event Web site
- Cost: Free with museum admission.
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- 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
- Playing in the Dirt with Microinvertebrates (map)
- Bur-Mil Park Wildlife Education Center, Greensboro
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Worms, snails, and other creepy crawlies epitomize the concept of reduce, reuse, and recycle by breaking down wastes and creating by-products that plants use as nutrients. Learn how our very existence depends on their unique talents.
- Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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- 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
- Skywatching Session (map)
- Ebenezer Church Recreation Area, Apex
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Under a starry night sky, enjoy:
* telescopic views of beautiful objects, including planets, nebulae, star clusters and, of course, the Moon,
* an informal tour of the constellations with a Morehead educator,
* constellation myths and legends, and
* experienced observers available to answer your questions about astronomy.Skywatching sessions are free and open to the public! Check the “News” listing on our home page or call Guest Relations at (919) 962-1236 on the day of the skywatching session to be sure weather conditions will permit us to host this outdoor activity.
- Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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- 9:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.
- Stargazing at ASU’s Dark Sky Observatory (map)
- ASU Dark Sky Observatory, Deep Gap
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Join us for a night under the stars at Appalachian State University’s Dark Sky Observatory. The target list for our telescope will include deep sky objects such as star clusters, nebulae and galaxies.
Stargazing sessions are free but require registration. See the Event Web Site linked below for registration information and session details. Observatory is located on Phillips Gap Rd off the Blue Ridge Parkway near Deep Gap, NC.
- Event Web site
- This event is free to participants.
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