North Carolina Museum Opening

Grand opening of the Nature Research Center and The Daily Planet, a 70-foot globe of Earth, at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, April 20-21, 2012, Raleigh NC. Betsy Bennett, Director of the museum, lead the planning and fundraising for the 80,000 sq foot, $56 million addition to the state-funded museum. .

At the grand opening of the Nature Research Center of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Dr. Meg Lowman, Director of the Center, greets donors and local leaders in the 45-foot Daily Planet theater, which is inside the 70-foot Earth.

Early visitors to the new Nature Research Center of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences explore climate change at an interactive display while others look down into the Daily Planet 45-foot spherical theater. The interactive screens on the right were originally produced for the Koshland Museum, Washington DC, by exhibit designers, Second Story.

Late night visitors stream under the 70-foot globe of the Nature Research Center during the 24-hour opening, April 20-21, 2012, in Raleigh NC. More than 70,000 citizens took part in the opening celebration and first night of public viewing of the three floors of interactive displays.

A vistor reads an exhibit at the new Nature Research Center in Raleigh NC, near the giant whale skeleton which is a centerpiece on the first floor of the musuem. The new wing has three floors with 80,000 sq feet of exhibits, including labs with active scientific work.

Kids transfixed by the giant sceen inside The Daily Planet, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Visual explorations on the 40-foot screen range from winter in Yellowstone to close-ups of insects and microbes.

Vistiors to the Nature Research Center wonder at close ups of the Moon during a live feed of NASA satellite images, in the "Science Panorama" theater on the second floor of the new wing of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.

Visitors get up close to a recently deceased squirrel as a scientist on the museum staff shows how data on mammals is collected, during the grand opening of the Nature Research Center of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, April 20-21, 2012, Raleigh NC. Close interaction with working scientists is a key part of public information provided by the new museum.

The new Nature Research Center and The Daily Planet, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh NC. includes colorful and informative exhibits ranging from asteroids to zoology. It is an engaging meld of art, education, science and interactive technology.

Colorful visual exploration of climate change research, part of the ever-changing displays inside the 45-foot theater, the Daily Planet, at the new Nature Research Center, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh NC. These shows were designed by the museum exhibit firm Batwin + Robin.

Dr. Meg Lowman, a biologist and tropical forest canopy researcher became director of the new Nature Research Center of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in its formative stages. She helped steer it toward active science research, an international focus, and strong interaction with the public.

Visitors at the grand opening for the new Nature Research Center turn toward the giant 40 foot screen on which nature and science images are constantly shown. Museum designers Batwin + Robin programmed the theater visuals to form a centerpiece for the museum's interactive and hands-on approach to natural history science displays.

A guide tells visitors about the evolution of insects in the Micro and Geonomics lab during the grand opening for the new Nature Research Center at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The museum will employ active scientists and trained docents to allow visitors to experience the way scientific discoveries are made.

Microscopes in the Biodiversity and Earth Observation Lab attract a couple of older visitors during the opening of the new Nature Research Center of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh NC.

A couple of young explorers get a close view of Mars thanks to a direct feed of NASA images in the "Science Panorama" theater, Nature Research Center, Raleigh NC. The new wing of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences provides a wide range of visual and hand-on introductions to science at scales from nonometers to light years.

Dr. Meg Lowman, Director of the Nature Research Center, speaks with famed scientist Paul Erlich in a live feed into The Daily Planet theater. This innovative 45-foot projection space will offer live and transmitted reports from scientists as part of its educational offerings to visitors in the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences,

Some of the more than 45,000 visitors during opening day of the Nature Research Center view a video about the vast scale of nature, inside The Daily Planet theater. The new wing of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences threw open its doors for a 24 hour opening celebration, April 20-21, 2012, in Raleigh NC.

Socially-minded businessperson and Rolex Award winner Reese Fernandez of the Philippines shows photo of poor community women who create fashion accessories from trash and recyled scrap cloth in a business she co-founded. This was one of the presentations at the opening of the new Nature Research Center of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

View over the top of the 70-foot world globe created for the new Nature Research Center of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The giant Earth map was created from satellite imagery and directly adhered to the stainless steel sphere by the Worldfx company.

The new Nature Research Center and The Daily Planet, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh NC. The $56 million interactive and education-focused wing was invented and brought to completion by museum director Betsy Bennett. The 70-foot globe is across the street from the state Legislature building.