North Carolina State Parks and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, two divisions of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, will be hosting this year’s N.C. Bat Working Group "Bat Blitz" to conduct a species inventory in five southeastern North Carolina counties Aug. 24-28. More than 80 trained participants from federal and state agencies and other organizations will be engaging in this effort, centered at Singletary Lake State Park in Bladen County.
Topics Related to Conservation
North Carolina State Parks, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, will be co-hosting a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate the grand opening of Lumber River State Park's Wire Pasture access. The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Robeson County, and the Museum of the Southeast American Indian at University of North Carolina at Pembroke are co-hosting.
North Carolina Aquariums are participating in a nationwide collaboration among public aquariums and research institutions in the development of new methods to breed more than 20 marine fish species in human care. The initiative reduces reliance on wild-caught animals while launching new public resources to help advance sustainable aquaculture.
The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores turns 50 this year. To celebrate, the Aquarium will offer two unique events on July 11 as part of a year-long run of events celebrating the three North Carolina Aquariums. NCAPKS is part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
A Birthday Splash daytime event will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 11 at the Aquarium and is free with admission or membership. Rock the Reef, an evening event for ages 21 and up, will follow from 7-10 p.m. and will be a ticketed event.
A rare, recently discovered eyewitness pen-and-ink sketch of the Continental Army’s North Carolina Brigade is coming to North Carolina for the first time.
The sketch depicting Continental Army soldiers and camp followers marching through Philadelphia on Aug. 25, 1777, is on loan to the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources from the Museum of the American Revolution and will be a centerpiece of DNCR’s America 250 NC commemoration.
It’s easy to run into a crab or a sandpiper in the coastal region of North Carolina – visitors and local folks are often witnesses to the marvels of nature that make up the state’s delicate ecosystems. Each organism from a frog to a fern is critical to the habitat and because of their importance, the North Carolina Aquariums are leading the Coastal North Carolina team in the NC Bioblitz—part of the City Nature Challenge (CNC) April 24-27. Science Across NC created the NC Bioblitz to encourage participation in the CNC in the state.
The North Carolina Office of State Archaeology has changed the name and expanded focus for one of its five locations. The Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Lab in Greenville was established in 2003 to preserve artifacts from one of North Carolina’s most significant archaeological discoveries — the wreck of Blackbeard’s flagship Queen Anne’s Revenge, formerly the French slave ship, La Concorde. The facility has been renamed the Office of State Archaeology Conservation Lab (OSA Lab).
In the ultimate battle for survival, every animal has a plan. Explore the striking ways nature fights back in “Staying Alive,” a new special exhibition showing at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences from March 14 through Aug. 23. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Appreciation for our natural world is something the community can rally around. Turning that into action inspired the 2026 Wilmington Community Science Fest March 28, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.