“State of Innovation” is the theme of this year’s North Carolina Science Festival presented by RTI International, and Erik MacIntosh, Community Engagement Manager at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, which runs the festival, believes it’s a perfect description of the festival and the state.
“This year’s festival has more than 400 events across every county in the state, which is more than ever before,” said MacIntosh. “Some of the biggest highlights include the grand opening of the Dueling Dinosaurs exhibit at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, the UNC Charlotte STEAM Innovation Expo and the Mountain Science Expo in Asheville. There truly are events for families, for every age and every science interest.”
The COVID-19 pandemic caused the 2020 festival to be canceled, turned the 2021 version into a virtual event and made the 2022 festival much smaller. More events returned in 2023, but this year’s festival marks more than just a full return to normalcy—the event is growing.
“I’m thrilled to say we have more partners, more events and even more excitement,” adds MacIntosh. “We’ve encouraged partners to keep those COVID modifications that made events better and more accessible, but we also want partners to try new things.”
There were no science festivals 67 million years ago, but in an area that would eventually be called the Hell Creek Formation in the state of Montana, two large dinosaurs—a tyrannosaur and a triceratops—squared off.
No one is sure what happened, but the dinosaurs were rapidly buried. Their fossils are remarkably preserved and include body outlines, skin impressions and other soft tissues as well as injuries such as tyrannosaur teeth embedded in the triceratops.
Those fossils are the centerpiece of Dueling Dinosaurs, a combination of a high-tech research lab and a dynamic dinosaur exhibit, which opens at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on April 27. It’s the first physical expansion of the museum in a decade and one of the highlights of the North Carolina Science Festival.
“This fossil is a scientific frontier,” said Lindsay Zanno, head of paleontology at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and associate research professor at NC State, in a press release. “The preservation is phenomenal, and we plan to use every technological innovation available to reveal new information on the biology of the world’s favorite dinosaurs.”
Visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the Age of Dinosaurs, learn about the tools and techniques used by paleontologists and engage with scientists as they uncover and research the two iconic dinosaurs in the specimen.
“The way we have designed the entire experience—inviting the public to follow the scientific discoveries in real time and participate in the research—will set a new standard for museums,” added Zanno.
To reserve your free timed-entry tickets and to stay up to date about the museum’s latest paleontology discoveries, visit the museum’s website.
The North Carolina Science Festival runs April 1–30, 2024. Explore its online calendar of events here.
