No, TACO Week doesn’t mean we here at the museum will be making, serving, or eating tacos, although you can eat tacos that week if you desire. TACO Week is short for Take A Child Outdoors Week. You should already be doing that, taking your kids out of doors, as often as you can. But, this is just a reminder, an excuse, in case it slipped your mind. This year, TACO Week is from 24 thru 30 September. Though we’reRead more
Posts filed in: People
Out For a Walk
You never know who you’ll come across out on the paths here at the Museum. Out for a stroll in the warm sunshine yesterday (above, l-r) were Sarah, Lightning, Cooper, Chris, and Terrence. It seems all were in a happy, springtime mood.Read more
The People
In February of 2015, I posted a collection of photos of the Museum staff. There were seventy some photos. This post is a follow-up to that with both familiar as well as a few new faces. But, not everyone on staff is included. Some folks don’t like to be photographed. And, you would have had to have made a trip to the outdoor exhibits to be seen by the lens of my camera. So, you may not see yourself inRead more
End of the Line: Part 1
Recently, I was sent an email by a coworker which included a link to “a gorgeous poster that contains every single bird you’ll see in North America.” It begged a click. It was indeed an impressive poster, bright, colorful, and many, many species. The illustrations were a bit stylized—if you weren’t already familiar with the birds depicted you may not be able to make an identification of a particular species from the rendered images – but it was an attractiveRead more
Let’s Set Sail!
Over the next several weeks or so, Nature Watch will have a guest blogger posting about a new type of environment – our ocean! The Museum of Life and Science is partnering with the Cassar Lab in the Nicholas School of Environment Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences at Duke University, for a look into the life and work of oceanographic researchers. We are inviting you to be a part of the journey to discover what happens on a research expeditionRead more
A Slider out for a Stroll
Top Photo: Yellow-bellied slider retreats into shell after being discover on path. I sometimes mention in the blog, the fact that any sunny and relatively warm day during winter, we at the Museum are likely to see turtles out basking on the rocks and stumps in our wetlands. Yellow-bellied sliders seem to come out of their slumber on the bottom of the pond quite easily, a warm day or two is all it takes. We’ve had many unusually warmRead more
Antipodes
Antipodes is an island, or group of islands, southeast of New Zealand. The word itself, antipodes, means something that is the exact opposite of something else. The root is from the Greek or Latin, anti, opposed or against and pous, foot. Speaking geographically, antipodes is or are two geographic places on opposite sides of the globe. Growing up, I can remember playground discussions about what would happen if you dug straight down into the earth and came out the otherRead more
Hideaway
As many of you know, Hideaway Woods, our newest exhibit and playscape, opens very soon. You’ll be able to climb up and into treehouses, explore a Sweetgum Thicket, wade through a woodland stream, stimulate your senses along a piedmont woodland nature trail, and share many other adventures with family and friends. But, you know what else is in Hideaway Woods? Hammocks! Seven of them! Along the Nature Trail! I tested them out a few days ago. Ahhhhh!Read more
Behind the Scenes
I take many photos here at the Museum. Some you see here on Nature Watch, some you don’t. Most of the photos I take are of plants or animals, but if I happen to have a camera in hand as one of the Museum staff passes, or is working nearby, they may become the subject of one of my photos. The following is a sample of some of the Museum staff that I’ve crossed paths with over the years while IRead more