Free for All
It may not be home to the Hope Diamond, but Raleigh is often dubbed the “Smithsonian of the South.” It’s no wonder—the city’s museums are gems in their own right. And the fact that many of them are free makes a visit priceless in more ways than one.
North Carolina Museum of Art
© NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART
North Carolina Museum of Art
IN 1947, NORTH CAROLINA became the first state to use public funds to buy art—and this museum’s collection was born. In April, the museum unveiled a new 127,000-square-foot, light-filled building with a soaring glass exterior, growing the exhibition space by 50%. (The original building is being used for special exhibitions, like American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell, opening Nov. 7.) The space is home to many newly acquired works, including paintings by Pablo Picasso and Ellsworth Kelly and 28 Auguste Rodin sculptures (making the museum the largest depository of the artist’s work in the South, with 31). The envi- ronmentally friendly structure has 362 skylights and shades that rise and fall based on sun levels, so the art is always perfectly illuminated. 2110 Blue Ridge Rd; 919-839-6262; www.ncartmuseum.org
North Carolina Museum of History
AS THE “HALL OF HISTORY,” this museum preserves state history through permanent and special exhibitions. In Behind the Veneer: Thomas Day, Master Cabinetmaker, visitors can learn about the life of Thomas Day, a free black man who owned and operated one of North Carolina’s largest cabinet shops before the Civil War. The exhibit features a re-created workshop complete with original hand tools and about 70 pieces of furniture, including intricately carved mahogany and rosewood designs. Sports fans will cheer for the permanent North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame exhibit, home to Richard Petty’s stock car, Duke University men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski’s warm-up jacket and hundreds of other artifacts from local heroes. 5 E Edenton St; 919- 807-7900; www.ncmuseumofhistory.org
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
THIS FOUR-STORY, INTERACTIVE museum introduces curious minds to all aspects of the state’s natural world, from the coast to the mountains to the gem- and mineral-rich caves. Animals in the exhibits are both live (poison dart frogs in “Tropical Connections,” seahorses in “Coastal Carolina”) and re-created (the world’s most complete skeleton of the predatory Acrocanthosaurus in “Prehistoric North Carolina”), and visitors will come away with an anthology of interesting facts about the state. A few good ones: North Carolina is home to 58 species of salaman- der, the greatest density of the species in the world, and it claims more high peaks than any state east of the Rockies. Bring those out at your next dinner party. 11 W Jones St; 919-733-7450; www.naturalsciences.org
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