Natural History

12 posts

We’re not just a Native American museum, We’re a Natural History Center too! Learn about interesting things about the world we live in!

Wild Poinsettia & Pollinators

We are working on several avenues to bring more native plants and pollinators to our museum grounds and Nature Trail to both support our native ecosystem and educate our visitors. In that spirit, we’d like to introduce Euphorbia cyathophora, also called Wild Poinsettia or Fire-on-the-Mountain. This unique looking plant makes […]

Our New Pollinator Sign!

When we announced a GoFundMe to try and raise funds for a very large outdoor sign, we were delighted to reach our goal with mind-blowing speed! We sent it ASAP to Hatteras Island Vinyl Graphics in Buxton and waited patiently for the call. We knew it would be special but […]

Native Culture in Unexpected Places

A newly published paper on 22 new species of gall wasp may not be something you’d ever consider as having any connection to Native American culture. Most people have seen a gall before. A strange growth on a plant that makes the stem bumpy or puffed up. Sometimes little furry […]

Concrete Trees?

If you’ve been to any of our amazing summer classes you’ve been able to see one of our latest accomplishments in person. Our Natural History Center was recently remodeled to provide a unique classroom experience of being out in nature without concerns like mosquito swarms. One of the things at […]

Pollinator Week Announcement

This week is Pollinator Week! From Pollinator.org: Pollinator Week 2024 is a celebration of the vital role that pollinators play in our ecosystems, economies, and agriculture. Under the inspiring theme “Vision 2040: Thriving ecosystems, economies, and agriculture,” this year’s event urges us to envision a future where pollinators not only […]

World Bee Day!

Did you know that today is a day to celebrate all of our wonderful native bee species? We have so many species that have been spotted on museum grounds and this is the perfect time of year to take a look! From little Colletes bees on our yaupon flowers to […]

4 March 2024; Yucca or Yuca?

While the yucca aren’t quite in bloom, we’ve been having some important discussions in the museum about plant identification. The recipe in the museum cookbook for fried yucca flowers was causing some confusion because folks were using yucca and yuca interchangeably when in fact they refer to two different types […]

15 January 2024; Naming Turtles

The past few weeks, our Facebook Page has been holding a contest. We have three lovely stone turtles inside the entrance to our Nature Trail and they needed names. The numbers are in and we’re happy to present the names that were submitted and then voted for by the public: […]

3 July 2023; Visitor Question on Cypress

We often say at the admission counter to “let us know if you have any questions”, and it brightens our day when folks take us up on the offer. The other day we had a young man ask a question that we weren’t quite sure of. We enthusiastically assured him […]

17 April 2023; See Amber in Rodanthe for Earth Day!

Many of you know Amber from the front admissions, but did you know she will be out in the wild on Saturday from 11am – 2pm at the RWS Community Building in Rodanthe for a Plant Swap event! She will be hosting a table to talk to people about our […]

30 June 2014; Box Turtle Eggs

One of the glorious things about the area, is the wildlife that we get to share it with. On June 10th, we had the pleasure of a box turtle digging a nest. She filled it with eggs and carefully put the dug soil back over the nest. We will wait […]