VISITORS TO THE ORIGINAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES WILL REMEMBER TROUBLE, A 55-FOOT SPERM WHALE. 



The scene becomes more familiar 

 as we jump ahead on the geologic 

 timeline to the current Holocene epoch. 

 We are on a riverbank of an eastern 

 North Carolina farm in about 1700. A 

 young boy is discovering whale bones 

 eroding from the stream bank. Art 

 reflects life, Schneider says. This whale 

 skeleton fossil dating to the Pliocene 

 epoch was discovered by an amateur 

 fossil hunter in Halifax County in 1993. 



We are re-entering contemporary 

 geologic time, and we blink our eyes to 

 adjust to more familiar coastal sights, 

 from saltwater marshes to waves 

 lapping on a sandy shore. And here, as 

 though to remind us of their evolution- 

 ary triumph, are the whales! 



The museum display is considered 

 a scientific treasure trove. The collection 

 includes a rare right whale and a 

 humpback whale. Trouble, the 55-foot 



sperm whale, has been on display for 

 more than a century and has become an 

 integral part of the museum's logo. The 

 newest addition to the museum's coastal 

 exhibit is the skeleton of a blue whale, 

 the largest animal on earth. Fewer than 

 10 museums worldwide possess a blue 

 whale specimen. 



Betsy Bennett, museum director, 

 says, the April opening ushers in a new 

 era for the museum, an agency of the 

 N.C. Department of Environment and 

 Natural Resources. Founded in 1879 

 to document and interpret the state's 

 natural history, the museum's research 

 collections now total more than a 

 million specimens. 



In its new home, major exhibits 

 include Prehistoric North Carolina, 

 Coastal North Carolina, Mountains to the 

 Sea, Tropical Connections and Living 

 Conservatory, North Carolina's Natural 



Treasures, and an Arthropod Zoo. The 

 building also features a Discovery Room 

 for families and children, and a Natural- 

 ist Center where backyard discoveries 

 can be brought for identification. □ 



The North Carolina Museum of Natural 

 Sciences is located on Bicentennial Plaza, 11 

 West Jones Street, Raleigh. It is scheduled to 

 open April 7-8, with a 24-hour celebration. 



Events include musical performances, 

 interpretive programs, hands-on activities 

 and crafts. The night shift will feature 

 nocturnal creatures, music and a midnight 

 chocoholic buffet. 



Regular hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

 Monday through Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 

 p.m. Sunday. Visit the museum on the web at 

 www.naturalsciences.org. 



COASTWATCH 25 



