Press Releases

Were 18th-century pirates literate? What sort of books did they keep on board ship? A fascinating new discovery at the Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Lab in Greenville helps answer those questions. Archaeological conservators with the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ QAR Lab have discovered and conserved a type of artifact that very rarely survives on shipwreck sites – paper.

Were 18th-century pirates literate? What sort of books did they keep on board ship? A fascinating new discovery at the Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Lab in Greenville helps answer those questions.

Look up “maze” in the dictionary, and you’ll find it described as a confusing network of intersecting paths or passages, a complex arrangement that causes bewilderment, confusion or perplexity. Now take that up a notch by adding two vital ingredients — fun and education — and you’ve arrived at “Mazes & Brain Games,” a new exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, opening Jan. 20, 2018.

Soft spun cotton thread on unbleached muslin can create beautiful white on white home textiles. The soft cotton thread also can be braided and used to form the wick for candles. Historic Bath will show you how to embroider your own decorative piece using white thread Jan. 11, at 10 a.m.

Isolation. The immense mountains of western North Carolina made life difficult for early regional settlers. Telling its story with objects, labels, and striking high resolution photographs, “The Mountains Are Calling: At Home in Western North Carolina” utilizes the scenery around the Vance Birthplace State Historic Site to explore facets of life in the North Carolina mountains from c.1790 to c.1830. The exhibit opens Jan. 8 at the North Carolina State Capitol.

Football lovers across the country will soon be in hog heaven. The college football bowl season is here. There are 40 games this season, six of which have taken place already. Three North Carolina schools will play in coming days, and N.C. A&T State played Dec. 16, defeating Grambling State in the Celebration Bowl. If we count distant cousins in the ACC, 10 games of interest will be played up to and including Jan. 1.

The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which manages the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, requests the public’s help in locating a missing historical marker about B. Everett Jordan.

Explore the imagination behind the creation of riveting novels as the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences — with WRAL-TV, Business North Carolina magazine and the North Carolina Humanities Council — present “Thrillers! An Evening with Authors John Grisham and John Hart.” This special event takes place at Meymandi Concert Hall Friday, February 23, 7:30 p.m., and will be moderated by D.G. Martin, host of UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Bookwatch.”

The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources officially recognizes more North Carolina history with additions to the National Register of Historic Places. They include one boundary expansion, one additional documentation and seven individual properties across the state.

The North Carolina Arts Council has awarded $75,000 in grants to support four arts programs that will serve military personnel, veterans and their families in the state.