About.com readers recently named Discovery Place the “Best Museum in Charlotte” for 2013!

“As an organization that nurtures a love for science and technology for visitors of all ages, it’s certainly appropriate and an honor to be included in About.com’s Charlotte Readers’ Choice Awards. The fun, laughter and contagious enthusiasm for learning from our guests are what make it a joy for me to come to work every day,” said John Mackay, president & CEO of Discovery Place, Inc.

The 2013 About.com Charlotte Readers’ Choice Awards are designed to showcase some of the best places, businesses, things to do and events in the Queen City. Readers choose the finalists and then vote for the winner.

Thank you to everyone who voted this year!

We know why we love to work here — what’s your favo Keep reading.

Sid the Science Kid is now a movie star, and you can be among the first to catch him on the big screen at Discovery Place!

On Saturday, April 6, we’re offering screenings of Sid the Science Kid: The Movie, plus giveaways (while supplies last).

This event is FREE with Museum admission. Limited seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

In his first feature-length movie, budding scientists Sid and Gabriela win a contest that allows them to tour a brand new museum before the grand opening. They soon find themselves on a fast-paced, science-filled adventure complete with robots and dinosaurs!

Sid the Science Kid: The Movie will be shown in Discovery 3D Theatre at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. The film will not be in 3D.

Materials science is one of those areas of science that we see and interact with every day, yet we don’t often stop to marvel at the elegance of the materials around us.

Strange Matter, our special limited engagement exhibition, illuminates materials science — the study of “stuff” — in a way that is cooler than we ever thought possible.

For example, some materials break “rules” that we typically accept as being unbreakable.

We commonly think of glass as being extremely fragile, so much so that when my colleagues and I introduce Museum guests to our World Alive tarantulas, we talk about how fragile the body of the arachnid is and how it would “shatter like glass” if we were to drop it.

But in Strange Matter, you can slam a 12 lb. bowling ball into a piece of tempered glass that Keep reading.

What is it about hairy little legs, antennas, horns, and pincers that instantly get under people’s skin? Some are fascinated by them: some are afraid. Everything from tarantula spiders to two-headed cats are being showcased in the Explore More Collections lab through the end of the month at 2:00 p.m.. Many of these ‘creepy crawlies’ are guaranteed to raise a couple of hairs on your head!

I had the privilege of meeting with Explore More Life and Explore More Collections educator Chris Eckart who gave me the lowdown on the arsenal of insects that make up the “creepy crawlies.” He began by introducing me to an African millipede, archispirostreptus gigas.

Millipedes have twice as many legs as the centipede. They aren’t the tastiest animals on the food chain and use this to their advan Keep reading.

October is usually thought of as a “ghoulish” month, wouldn’t you agree?

That’s why I was struck by a creepy but amusing task I found myself undertaking (no pun intended.)

Currently, we are assembling a 3D printed robotic hand to be used during the November Animatronics lab unit (don’t forget to visit!) which requires threading nylon cable through the distal joint of each finger and gluing fingertips into place.

Luckily, I discovered assembly of the hand is much simpler when gluing the cable in the fingertips is the last step of construction. Rather than printing off a new set of digits, I decided to remove the tips from the fingers.

I know what you’re thinking.

Yes, to accomplish this gruesome goal, I was purposefully chopping my (3D printed) fingertips off with a band Keep reading.