Press Release
Raleigh's "Top 10" Magnificent Museums
RALEIGH, N.C. (January 2005) – North Carolina's capital city boasts an eclectic collage of culture. This unique concentration of museums has rendered Raleigh the nickname, Smithsonian of the South.
African American Cultural Complex (AACC)
The African American Cultural Complex displays a collection that recounts the story of African-American contributions. One permanent exhibit highlights everyday items that were invented or include components of inventions made by African-Americans, including an ice cream cone, a bottle of peanut oil and an eggbeater. A replica of the Amistad slave ship is on display year round, although it shines July 21-24 and July 28-31, 2005, during the 7th annual production of the only outdoor drama written, produced and directed by and about African Americans in the U.S., The Amistad Saga: Reflections. Admission to the museum is free; there is a charge for the Amistad performance. www.aaccmuseum.org
Exploris/IMAX Theatre at Exploris
This state-of-the-art interactive museum about the world has a unique mission – to encourage visitors to make connections with people of all cultures. Through hands-on exhibits and thought provoking programs, guests have the opportunity to see how the world works, and the part each human can play in it. Many Voices encourages visitors to discover world voices by paging through unfiltered news from more than 40 countries and expressing personal thoughts by building a website. The IMAX Theatre at Exploris provides an medium to introduce new places, new people and new ideas to visitors of all ages. Admission charged. www.exploris.org
Legends of Harley Drag Racing Museum
Ray Price is quick to escort you to the museum floor – just upstairs from one of the East Coast's largest Harley dealership! More than six decades of American motorcycle history are on display, with Harley Davidson bikes representing each era from 1936 to the present, both in original and restored condition. Admission is free. www.rayprice.com
Mordecai Historic Park
Mordecai Historic Park was once the heart of an extensive antebellum plantation. Surrounding Mordecai House, the park's Greek Revival house museum, are other historic structures including the birthplace of Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States. These buildings, relocated from Raleigh and the surrounding area for preservation efforts, are grouped together in a "village street" setting and provide a unique glimpse into 19th-century Raleigh life. Admission charged. capitalareapreservation.org/park.html
North Carolina Museum of Art
This museum houses 5,000 years of artistic heritage, from ancient Egypt to the present. The collection of Renaissance and Baroque paintings, with works by Van Dyck, Jan Brueghel and Raphael, is internationally recognized. Significant American paintings include works by John Singleton Copley, Winslow Homer and Georgia O'Keeffe. Also represented are collections of African, Oceanic, New World, Egyptian, Greek and Roman, 20th-century and Jewish ceremonial art. Feature exhibits in 2005 include: In Focus: Contemporary Photography from the Allen G. Thomas Collection, April 3-July 17; Fusion: Contemporary Art Glass from North Carolina Collections, May 8-August 14; and Crosscurrents: Art, Craft and Design in North Carolina, September 25-January 8, 2006. Admission to the museum and the permanent collection is free. There is a charge for select special exhibitions. www.ncartmuseum.org
North Carolina Museum of History & North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame
The North Carolina Museum of History's collection contains more than 250,000 artifacts representing the state's rich heritage, with exhibits on agriculture, politics, folklife and more. 2005 signature exhibit includes: North Carolina Aviation Pioneers, on display through May 29, 2005. The exhibit, A Change Is Gonna Come: Black, Indian, and White Voices for Racial Equality, is slated to open in 2005, and will focus on the struggle for racial equality in North Carolina from the 1860s to the 1980s through the personal stories of the state's citizens.
Located within the North Carolina Museum of History, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame exhibits personal items donated by many of the 200 inductees. From Richard Petty's #43 racecar to Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice's #22 football jersey, this exhibit is a treat for all sports fans. Admission is free. www.ncmuseumofhistory.org
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences includes 70,000 square feet of walk-through environments. Four floors of exhibits feature four great whales, the world's only Acrocanthosaurus – better known as the "Terror of the South"– and Willo, the dinosaur with a heart! Using a cutting-edge exhibit technique, live animals are included in exhibits.
Through June 2005, the special exhibit, Treasures Unearthed: North Carolina's Spectacular Gems & Minerals, showcases the largest collection of North Carolina's gems and minerals ever displayed, from emeralds, rubies and sapphires, to a walk-through gold mine. Then on June 18, 2005 through September 18, 2005, CSI: Crime Scene Insects takes center stage, exploring forensic entomology to solve crimes, the use of flies, maggots and beetles to reveal critical details of a crime scene.
BugFest, the annual festival where guests can cheer for their favorite candidate during the roach races, and savor creepy-crawly cuisine, is planned for August 13, 2005. Admission to the museum and the permanent exhibits is free. There is a charge for select special exhibitions. www.naturalsciences.org
North Carolina Railroad Museum
Visitors to the North Carolina Railroad Museum are invited to view the collection of train equipment, including a recently restored Vulcan Tank Steam Locomotive. The equipment on display at the museum is available for viewing during normal daylight hours – however the museum is only staffed on Work Days, Train Ride Days and Group Ride Days. To ride the rails, catch a one-hour adventure from Bonsal to New Hill and back. From May through November, guests can board the train the first Sunday of each month. Special holiday trains including the spooky "Halloween Express" in October and "Christmas Train" featuring Santa in December are always a hit. Admission charged for train rides only. www.nhvry.org
Raleigh City Museum
After 200 years of North Carolina's capital city having no repository for its cultural artifacts and no place to preserve its past, the city opened its first exhibit in 1993. Since then, the Raleigh City Museum has dedicated itself to helping people understand the city's present through knowledge of its past by collecting, preserving and interpreting materials pertaining to Raleigh's unique history and culture. Through summer 2005, the exhibit, Nature Unleashed, documents Raleigh's encounters with nature at its worst, from hurricanes and tornadoes, to ice storms and blizzards. Through winter 2006, Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Transportation in the Triangle, showcases the evolution of transportation in the Triangle region. Admission is free. www.raleighcitymuseum.org
Wake Forest College Birthplace Museum
Dedicated to the history of Wake Forest College and the town of Wake Forest, this museum is housed in a circa-1820 structure that served as the home of the first president of the college and the location of the school's classrooms. The well-preserved collection of artifacts includes objects of interest relevant to the beginnings of campus, the town of Wake Forest, medical and law schools, athletics and student life through 1956. Admission is free. (919) 556-2911
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