What's Happening?

A Journey Through Deep Time: 

Dinosaur Bones, Rocks, and Fossils 

In our renovated "Rock Room" gallery, see some of the fossils in the museum's collection and loaned specimens, such as an Allosaurus bone, Triceratops frill, and an American mastodon tusk.

A free, public opening reception will take place in the evening of September 29, 2023, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. 

Dinosaur Day

September 30, 2023

10 AM - 2 PM 

Fun and FREE activities for everyone, including:

- A dinosaur egg hunt in our botanical garden. 

- Kids will be able to make a clay fossil and search for fossils to take home. 

- The North Carolina Fossil Club will have displays.

- Food trucks on the grounds.

*We are a small venue, so space and supplies are limited* 

10:00 Intro to Dinosaurs

1) See pictures and bones on exhibit.

2) Talk about parts: teeth, claws, frill, toes, and   tail.

10:15 Meat eater or plant eater activities

1) Try stripping, chopping, or grinding a carrot   with your teeth.

2) Simulate meat eaters with a staple remover and   cotton ball and plant eaters with 2 rocks and plant leaves.

3) Identify dinosaurs in pictures as plant eaters   or meat eaters by their skulls.

4) Learn how body shape, the way they stand, and   leg structure relate to what they ate and how they moved.

5) Arrange dinosaur picture cards by what they   ate.

6) Talk about “predators” and “prey” and whether   “prey” were always plant eaters.

11:15 Dinosaurs’ relation to birds activities

1) Pass around a real dinosaur bone.

2) Step on the dinosaur footprints leading to the   garden and decide whether they are from a young or old meat eater or plant   eater. 

3) Join the dinosaur egg hunt: find one plastic   egg in the garden and take home the little dinosaur inside. 

4) Make a clay dinosaur egg to take home.

12:00 Lunch break

– food truck available

12:30 Fossils

1) Act like a paleontologist putting together a   dinosaur skeleton.

· Assemble chicken bones while looking at an   image of Tyrannosaurus rex.

2) How fossils form

· Talk about what fossils are and what’s needed   for them to form. See pictures.

· See examples of ways fossils are preserved.

3) See fossils on exhibit in the museum.

4) Decorate a clay fossil to take home.

5) Search for fossils to take home.

· Find fossils of tiny sea creatures in gravel   from Aurora, NC.

6) Color dinosaur pictures.

Plus:

See  displays from the NC Fossil Club.

Explore our new exhibit, A Journey Through Deep   Time: Dinosaur Bones, Rocks, and Fossils.

Purchase  prehistoric-themed gifts. 

(*cash only as a donation to the museum*)

The Duplin County Beekeepers Association has put up an apiary with two beehives located near our tobacco barn. The hives are not close to the main outbuildings and botanical garden. 

However, the bees are certainly busy with all the flowers we have on the grounds, so please be(e) aware of their presence and that they are doing important work as pollinators.

The North Carolina Science Trail (NCST) is a STEM collection of about 60 partners across the state of North Carolina. The mission of the NC Science Trail is to inspire exploration of NC’s varied science landscape all year long. NCST aims to build awareness of science processes, cultivate appreciation for the role of science in our everyday lives, and encourage care for the natural world. 

NCST's primary goals are:

1. to connect and highlight their science education partners.
2. to provide awareness of exploration opportunities for NC residents and visitors across the state.
3. to bridge the gap between educators and lifelong learners.

https://ncsciencetrail.org/

The Joann Cowan Brown Botanical Garden is a HotSpot in the ecoEXPLORE program! 

ecoEXPLORE (Experiences Promoting Learning Outdoors for Research and Education) is an incentive-based citizen science program for children in grades K-8. Developed by The North Carolina Arboretum, this innovative program combines science exploration with kid-friendly technology to foster a fun learning environment for children while encouraging them to explore the outdoors and participate in citizen science. 

* It's currently Arachnology Season (September 1 - October 31)! Arachnology is the study of arachnids. 

  Fun Fact:

 Arachnology is the study of spiders, scorpions, ticks and other arthropods with 8 legs, 2 body segments and a hard exoskeleton. Arachnids are found all over the world and have been around for over 500 million years! 

Source: https://www.ecoexplore.net/