What happens when a plant or animal dies? The fascinating world of decomposers is one that many people don't know about, but plays an important role in the nutrient cycle. Without decomposers, nutrients would not cycle back into our environment and waste would accumulate quickly. If decomposers did not exist, the earth could be covered in a layer of dead flies almost twenty feet deep in less than a month!

It is the job of decomposers to return the nutrients from the once-living organism back into the environment to be used again. There are 3 major groups of decomposers – the FBI – Fungus, Bacteria, and Invertebrates. Fungi, like mushrooms and molds, are some of the largest organisms on earth – one colony in Oregon spans 2,200 acres and is approximately 2,400... Keep reading.

Can you feel the beat?

We had a feet tapping, hand clapping great time when DrumSTRONG joined us at at Discovery Place on August 6. The group facilitated DrumCircles in our Explore More Collections lab and everyone had a great time with hands-on percussion fun. Plus, Discovery Place staff showcased African drums and other artifacts for learning and experience.

DrumSTRONG focuses on "drumming to BEAT cancer." The organization brings together the community in a festive, informative, uplifting rhythm-filled environment; raising awareness & funds for education, research and survivorship support.

Please visit www.drumstrong.org and learn more about this organization and their DrumCircles.

The Corey Ellis Hughes Dunn Award recognizes teen Apprentices who have exhibited a passion for science and nature, a willingness to learn and a commitment to sharing their knowledge and experiences with others.

This year we recognized our first recipient, Carson Trapp.

Carson has volunteered over 470 hours at the Charlotte Nature Museum in the last 16 months. Her enthusiasm shows in the way she takes initiative to learn tasks and her eagerness to share her knowledge of the natural world with all Charlotte Nature Museum visitors. On any given day, Carson can be found feeding the animals, facilitating animal encounters with our visitors, guiding our summer campers on nature hikes, or leading one of our monthly Creature Feature events.

Carson’s passion and enthusiasm truly... Keep reading.

Discovery Place’s mission statement begins with the words “We exist to ignite wonder as a preeminent science center..."

Igniting wonder may seem like an easy goal for a Museum like Discovery Place, but in this day of cell phones, internet and mass stimuli, finding those sparks of wonder is not always easy to achieve.

During the Explore More Stuff “Chemistry“ lab unit, which ran through January of this year, one of the activities involved painting with a sodium acetate solution called crystal ink, which forms crystals when it dries.

During the activity, guests painted crystal ink on a black piece of paper, which was placed under a heat lamp so that the ink could dry, causing a white crystalline image to appear. The crystal ink drying process takes... Keep reading.

As you look around and admire the incredible renewal of green life that occurs in the spring season, remember that spring also is a great time to renew your Membership to Discovery Place and Charlotte Nature Museum! And, there has never been a better time to be a Member as we wrap-up the renovation of Discovery Place in June and premiere some highly-anticipated new exhibitions including Fantastic Frogs and World Alive and two additional Explore More labs.

As Members, we hope you have had a chance to attend the special Member previews of the new exhibitions – Cool Stuff, KidScience, Discovery 3D Theatre, Project Build, Science Buzz and Think It Up. We’ve been hard at work to create entertaining and educational experiences that engage you and your family in the wonder of... Keep reading.