Local Features

Museum’s Astronomy Days will highlight lunar exploration, ENC astronaut scheduled to orbit moon

Annette Weston

This year’s event, themed "Passport to the Moon," invites people to explore the future of lunar exploration. Eastern North Carolina’s own Christina Koch, a NASA astronaut and record-breaker who grew up in Jacksonville, will be part of the coming mission to the moon.

A welcome sign stands outside of the Holcomb Gate on Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Jan. 8, 2008. MCB Camp Lejeune has been noted as the Home of the Expeditionary Forces in Readiness; directly supporting the II Marine Expeditionary Force.

USMC wife sickened after living at Tarawa Terrace aboard Camp Lejeune in Vietnam War era fighting for compensation

Annette Weston

“We were living at Geiger Trailer Park, which were these little bitty trailers that I think Eleanor Roosevelt had arranged for World War II vets to live in,” she said, “And when we found out that we would get a house in Tarawa Terrace, we were so excited about it, because then we could get out of the little bitty trailer."

Morgan Makely III served in the United States Marine Corps from 1981 through 1985, as a Morse code intercept operator, and was aboard Camp Lejeune for the final two years of his tour of duty.

Widow of Camp Lejeune Marine: Battle with U.S. government over compensation for toxic water exposure is "cruel"

Annette Weston

"I wish they would have just said, screw you, we're not going to do it. We don't care. Go ahead and die. Stop holding out hope. Stop making us fight. You know, I mean, it's cruel,” Cathy Makely said, “It's so cruel.”

Marvin Cox served in the United States Marine Corps from 1981 to 1985. His last duty station was Camp Lejeune. He has since been diagnosed with cancer.

Search for justice for Camp Lejeune water contamination continues for Marine stationed at base in 1980s

Annette Weston

Marvin Cox served in the United States Marine Corps from 1981 to 1985. His last duty station was Camp Lejeune. He has since been diagnosed with cancer.

Weird Science: Citizen science and monkey sweat help NC researcher determine whether current obsession with skincare routines may be doing more harm than good

Annette Weston

Dr. Julie Horvath is the head of the Genomics & Microbiology Research Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and also an Associate Research Professor at North Carolina Central University. She’s studying personal hygiene and its effects on the microbes on our skin – by taking samples from people's arm pits and from the underarms of other primates.

New motion accuses government of burying Camp Lejeune case in mountain of redundant, meritless motions

Annette Weston

Seventy-two years after service members were first exposed to toxic water at Camp Lejeune, and three years after the passage of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, litigation over the resulting health impacts remains ongoing, with a new motion filed this week in an attempt to speed things up.

The Dueling Dinosaurs were found in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana by ranchers in 2006, and the find included the fossilized skeletons of a tyrannosaur and a triceratops entangled with one another, and entombed in sandstone.

Discovery of the decade: North Carolina researchers identify new species in Dueling Dinosaur fossil

Annette Weston

Nano Tyrannus lancensis was first identified in the 1940s but later largely dismissed by the paleontological community as just a younger T-rex. But the head of paleontology at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences said research has confirmed the differences between the two Tyrannosaurs were far greater than just size.

Rachel Whitner and her husband operate the No Rules food truck – with a revolving menu that might include a pineapple burger one day and a steak and cheese sandwich the next.

From Wild West chuck wagons to food truck gourmet treats; how modern technology relaunched and reshaped mobile dining

Annette Weston

From Carolina barbeque to Cajun treats, sweets and donuts, food with a Mexican or Caribbean flair, there are dozens of food trucks feeding people in eastern North Carolina.

A consultant determined that taking advantage of the remains of a Civil War era arsenal right outside their doors was the right move for the proposed Civil War History Center. Educational director, Dr. Michael McElreath said the arsenal, "Was destroyed by Sherman, but it's still got the footprint there and you could use that as a memory peg to tell the story of the whole state in the Civil War, and people are interested in the Civil War.”

As Civil War History Center moves forward, professors take discussions about the war to local communities across the state

Annette Weston

In Richlands, Civil War History Center Educational director, Dr. Michael McElreath and history professors from Appalachian State University and University of North Carolina - Wilmington led discussions on the Civil War in Eastern North Carolina and how best to teach both about the causes of the war and divisions in the United States today.

In a series of science workshops at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, scientists and chefs taught K-12 teachers and others how to make fermented foods like kimchi.

Weird Science: Kombucha and kimchi, fermented foods that are more than a trending fad

Annette Weston

A new North Carolina study connected cooking with science, examining how fermented foods like kombucha and kimchi – which have had a huge surge in popularity in recent years – not only taste good but are also good for you.