Why invest in the Museum of Life and Science?

The Museum began in 1946 as a small trailside nature center. Generations of families have participated in joyful, enlightening experiences that spark wonder, touch the heart and expand the mind.


Today, the Museum of Life and Science offers a uniquely accessible indoor-outdoor learning environment – an 84-acre campus with engaging experiences across science disciplines through 285 hands-on exhibits. Our frequent special events, traveling exhibits, partnerships with Triangle science organizations and wide-ranging programs offer an incredible diversity of exploration and free-choice learning. We serve over 435,000 visitors annually, and touch another 50,000 people with outreach learning experiences.


Our members and visitors have been delighted with recent expansions. The Museum now offers major outdoor attractions featuring wildlife and a wetland, wind exhibits and the new Dinosaur Trail. Indoors, we have new exhibits that serve young children, offer hands-on health investigation, enable visitors to explore math or nanoscale science and more. Our operating budget has grown by over 50% in the past five years and strong community support and contributions have fueled our success in offering award-winning informal learning experiences and environments.


The Museum’s fundraising priorities are to raise nearly $525,000 in annual fund support (about 8% of our $6.6 million annual budget) and to secure additional funds for capital improvements across campus.