I went to observe the community at the Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh on Saturday, November 7th, 2015 from 3:02 pm until 4:21 pm. I also observed on Sunday, November 8th, 2015 from 2:30 pm until 3:21 pm. The museum is a 4 story building that is also connected to the Nature Research Center located in downtown. The museum shows the biodiversity of North Carolina throughout its many regions. I observed this North Carolina focus throughout the first, second, and third floors.

 

On the first floor of the building, they have an exhibit on the Coastal Region. The exhibit includes descriptions of the types of organisms found on the coast and what the ecosystems are like. There are many models of animals such as sea turtles, dolphins and a variety of fish species. The exhibit even includes a tank with live fish and skeletons of whales hanging from the ceiling.

 

The second floor included the Piedmont, Savanna, and Bottomland exhibits. There was a large opening with lots of trees, a waterfall, and taxidermy animals. On the second floor, there is a room with an exhibit on “Extreme Mammals.” This is the featured exhibit from September until the end of March. I was unable to go inside though since I did not purchase a ticket for the exhibit.

 

The third floor was focused towards the Mountains and it contained an exhibit on dinosaurs as well. Also, on the third floor there was a room called “Windows on the World” where they would have “Meet the Animals” demonstrations. At these demonstrations, a worker at the museum would teach a small crowd about certain animals. When I went to the museum, the focus was on mammals. I observed the presenter show the visitors a rabbit, some mice, a porcupine, and a ferret. The crowd was allowed to touch all of the animals except the porcupine. The fourth floor is mostly focused towards insects and there is a living conservatory that contains butterflies.

 

I then moved to the Nature Research Center, which is more focused on the research aspect of the natural sciences. You can cross over to the Research Center by a bridge located on the second floor of the main museum building. In the Center, there are different research labs located behind glass. The public is allowed to observe the scientists conduct their research and they are even allowed to ask questions. This separation creates a discourse community for the scientists because they are disconnected from the public by the glass. The only time their community would react with others would be when the public would ask them questions about their labs.  The different labs include the Earth Observation Lab and the Paleontology Lab which both partner with North Carolina State University and the NASA Research Lab that partners with Appalachian State University. The Nature Research Center also includes many different exhibits for people to go in to and observe, such as the Naturalist Center and the “From Dinosaurs to DNA” exhibit.