Press Releases

The North Carolina State Capitol is seeking community input through a series of listening sessions as the historic site prepares to launch a new digital humanities initiative, currently titled “From Naming to Knowing: Uncovering Slavery at the North Carolina State Capitol.” The project names over 130 enslaved African American workers and craftsmen who built and maintained the State Capitol in the 1800s. Most of the men worked on the building’s construction in the 1830s, either as laborers at the site or in the nearby State Quarry.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) recognized the North Carolina Zoo with the AZA’s William G. Conway International Conservation Award at the AZA Conference in August in Baltimore, Maryland. This award recognizes exceptional efforts toward habitat preservation, species restoration, and support of biodiversity in the wild on a global level.

An exhibit examining the myths and misconceptions behind the mountain “hillbilly” stereotype will open Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Mountain Gateway Museum & Heritage Center (MGM) in Old Fort.

Patriot militiamen encamped in Polk County changed the course of the Revolutionary War and their actions will be recognized with a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker.

The North Carolina Historical Commission will hold their regular meeting Wednesday., Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. in room 308 of the Archives and History Building, 102 E.

The Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) has awarded the President James K.

 Join Duke Homestead State Historic Site at the historic Durham Athletic Park for an evening with two vintage baseball games on Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Tyson Phillips will be the first superintendent of Pisgah View State Park, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. The park was authorized in 2019, but the lands will remain closed to the public while the park is planned, facilities are constructed and staff is hired. The Division estimates that the lands will open as a state park in 2025. Located in Buncombe and Haywood counties in the town of Candler, the site of the future state park is just 16 miles southwest of Asheville.

The North Carolina African American Heritage Commission (NCAAHC) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $5,000 planning grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (ZSR). The planning grant is one of 20 awarded statewide, which will be used for community engagement and to move toward submitting full proposals for a potential inclusive public art installation.

For the first time in three years, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ largest annual event is back in person. BugFest, the largest one-day bug-centric event in the country, introduces museum guests to a range of arthropods from North Carolina and around the world. Satisfy all your web weaving, wing flapping, dungball rolling, creepy crawling and bug munching pursuits in one day: Saturday, Sept. 17, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. It’s in person and free!