From Budding Scientist Blog at Scientific American:

Imagine walking through a science museum and, among the usual displays of dinosaur bones, butterflies, and amphibians you come upon a series of windows into state-of-the-art research labs. Inside, scientists from nearby universities and veterinary schools work on projects related to biodiversity, genetics, nanoparticles, and animal health and welfare. In front of each window is a touch screen. Tap it, and you can learn about each researcher’s specific project and the tools with which he or she is working. A few minutes later, one of the scientists emerges to discuss the research with visitors and answer questions. The exchange benefits the scientists as well: some are PhD candidates learning how to communicate what they do to a broader audience.

Read the full story

The Nature Research Center, an 80,000-square-foot wing of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences currently under construction, will bring research scientists and their work into the public eye, help demystify an often intimidating field of study, better prepare science educators and students, and inspire a new generation of young scientists. The cornerstone of the NRC will be the SECU Daily Planet, an immersive, three-story multimedia space that will host live programming on current science issues and feature nature films on a giant screen. Other highlights include a 10,000-gallon aquarium with lionfish, bonnethead sharks and Atlantic stingrays, and Investigate Labs, where visitors can perform scientific experiments designed and led by Museum researchers and educators.

Mark your calendars … the public is invited to a 24-hour opening celebration from 5 p.m. on Friday, April 20 through 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 21, 2012.

Dates & Times:
24 Hour Opening; 4/20/12 at 5pm to 4/21/12 at 5pm

Cost:
Free admission

FOR MORE INFO
URL: http://naturalsciences.org/nature-research-center
Phone Number: 919-733-7450

Below is the first issue of the Naturesearch Newsletter (September 2011):

Download (PDF, 1.67MB)

====PRESS RELEASE====

Media Advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — September 13, 2011
Contact:Emelia.Cowans@ncdenr.gov; 919.733.7450, ext. 305

BugFest Critter Cook-off to feature the culinary stylings of local chefs from the Angus Barn and Sono

(RALEIGH) — The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ annual BugFest Critter Cook-off, the official start to BugFest 2011, kicks off on Friday, September 16 at 11 a.m. in the Treasures Hall of the Museum. This Iron-Chef style media preview has been a crowd pleaser for more than ten years. Chef Jim Long, Executive Sous Chef at the Angus Barn will compete against Chef Michael Lee, Executive Chef of Sono Sushi for the title of BugFest Critter Cook-off Champion 2011! Media and the public are invited to attend.

Each chef has 50 minutes to create an appetizer, entrée, dessert and mystery dish using mealworms (mealworm beetle larvae), wax worms (caterpillar larvae of wax moths), crickets, super worms (darkling beetle larvae) and a “mystery” bug.  Each dish will be judged on taste, originality and presentation. The chef whose buggy grub wows our panel of celebrity judges earns the title of BugFest Critter Cook-off Champion 2011!

Returning this year is a panel of esteemed, seasoned bug eaters! Steve Daniels, ABC-11; Karen Clark, Foxy 107/104; Penn Holderness, NBC-17 and Director of the Museum’s new wing, the Nature Research Center, Dr. Meg Lowman are indeed in for a treat! Zack Lemann, Staff Entomologist at the Audubon Insectarium and a judge from last year, will be our special guest. Lemann considers himself an entomophagist, a person well-versed in the world of bug dining, and will give several bug-cooking demonstrations for the public on Saturday at BugFest!

BugFest 2011, the largest single-day bug centered event in the country, takes place on Saturday, September 17 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. with free admission and activities. Friday’s Critter Cook-off will last about an hour, with opportunities for the media to interview chefs and judges and sample the critter concoctions.

BugFest Critter Cook-off 2011 

Chef Bios

Michael Lee, Executive Chef, Sono, Raleigh
Michael Lee is the Chef/Owner of Sono Japanese Restaurant in downtown Raleigh.  He started his apprenticeship in 1994 under a master Washoku chef.  Working at local restaurants even during his high school years has helped him to learn fast and adapt to the unique style of Japanese cooking . After years of training and working as an executive chef to help open many successful restaurants around the country, Chef Michael opened Sono in 2007.  Since then he has been working hard to adapt and create cuisines that are unique and local to satisfy the taste buds of the triangle

Jim Long, Executive Sous Chef, Angus Barn, Raleigh
Jim Long is a 1992 graduate of Wake Technical Community College’s culinary program and has worked at the Angus Barn for nearly 20 years. He’s been Sous Chef to Iron-Chef Walter Royal for 15 years. Royal defeated Iron-Chef Cat Cora in 2006.

Judge Bios 

Dr. Meg Lowman, Director, Nature Research Center at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Meg Lowman pioneered the science of canopy ecology. For 30 years, she has designed hot-air balloons and walkways for treetop exploration to solve mysteries in the world’s forests, with special expertise on the links between insect pests and ecosystem health. Meg is affectionately called the “Mother of Canopy Research” as one of the first scientists to explore this “eighth continent.”

Steve Daniels, Anchor, ABC-11
Steve Daniels just can’t get enough of those buggy dishes, returning as a judge for the 3rd year. Steve is co-anchor of the ABC-TV 11 Eyewitness News. Prior to coming to the Triangle, he traveled the country and the world reporting stories for “Dateline NBC.” Steve has also been a contributor on the “Today” show, “NBC Nightly News,” MSNBC and CNBC. He’s won seven Emmys and several other national awards for outstanding investigative reporting.

Karen Clark, News & Public Affairs, Foxy 107/104, Radio One Raleigh
Karen Clark is a graduate of the School of Journalism at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before she began working with Foxy 107/104, Karen pursued a commercial broadcast career, and then moved into the music industry as the Promotions Manager with Columbia Records. After seven years in the music industry, Karen started Something Borrowed, Something Blue, a wedding and event planning company based in Raleigh.

Penn Holderness, Anchor, NBC-17
Penn Holderness is a Durham native and graduate of Durham Jordan High School. Penn went to college at the University of Virginia and majored in philosophy, but took a crack at journalism after graduation as an intern for the WTVD ABC11 sports department. His first on-air job in was in Grand Junction, Colorado, then Penn moved to Orlando for five years. He hosted three seasons of "Designer Finals" on HGTV and hosted a college hoops show on CSTV with former Tar Heel Coach Matt Doherty. Most recently, Penn worked as a video essayist for ABC and ESPN while living in New York. Penn, his wife and two kids are thrilled to be back in the Triangle, closer to their families who reside in the area.

Special Guest

Zack Lemann, Visitor Programs Manager for the Audubon Insectarium
Zack Lemann, a former BugFest Critter Cook-off chef, is lending his expertise this year as a judge. Zack has appeared on numerous TV programs, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Maury Povich Show, and The Today Show, introducing the public to his unique passion of bug cooking. Zack travels the world as a “bug chef,” spreading the word about a diet of the planet’s most plentiful source of protein.

From charlotteobserver.com:

RALEIGH Amid the straight edges and gridded streets of downtown Raleigh, a giant ball has appeared at Jones and Salisbury streets, like a colossal marble that has rolled into a corner.

This big yellow ball will become the SECU Daily Planet, a round theater of sorts in which groups of school children and other visitors will learn about the latest in scientific research. When it is completed next spring, the Daily Planet will be the centerpiece of the Nature Research Center, a $54 million addition to the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences.

If the science museum presents what scientists know about the natural world, the new wing will focus on current research. “It is how we know what we know,” said Meg Lowman, director of the research center.

Full article

PROGRAM FEATURES
“This is a non-stop workshop full of once-in-a-lifetime experiences.”

Unique, active, and fun! This expedition is an eye-opening introduction to the environmental and cultural aspects of the Amazon Rainforest and river system in the Amazon basin of Northern Peru. The program is safe, comfortable, and accessible, offering the opportunity for many intercultural interactions, plus science and service field experiences:

• Work side-by-side with scientists on research in of one of the most biologically diverse environments on the planet.
• Ascend over 115 feet on a 1/4-mile Rainforest Canopy Walkway, one of the few of its kind in the New World.
• Interact with indigenous people and see how they use the forest for medicine, food, and shelter.
• Contribute to a Community Service Project to benefit people who live in a village along the Amazon River.
• Use hand lenses, binoculars, maps, taxonomic keys for identification, and simple field equipment with the help of our experienced Naturalist Guides to learn about:
• Insect Camouflage & Mimicry
• Neotropical Butterflies
• Rainforest Canopy Research
• Reptiles and Amphibians
• Medicinal Plants
• Orchids & Bromeliads
• Amazon River System
• Neotropical Birds & Migration

Lowman and Dunn’s team of biodiversity students shared between NC State University and the NC Museum report amazing new findings on our bodies! View the story on io9.com.

Dr. Lowman was a guest on WCOM’s Radio in Vivo on June 1, 2011. Discussion included the Nature Research Center, canopy science research and communicating science.

You can also listen the the podcast using the player below:

Museum initiatives on the diversity of life on and around us

Student Jiri Hulcr was on NPR’s Living on Earth to talk about the Belly Button Biodiversity project.

Listen and read at: http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=11-P13-00019&segmentID=7

You can also listen using the player below: