Science Exhibits
Wallace & Gromit: Get Cracking!
(January 17 – May 3, 2026)
Wallace & Gromit™: Get Cracking! invites little inventors into Wallace’s world, where inventions and contraptions often go terribly—but hilariously—wrong. In the exhibit’s interactive dining room, kids will experiment with basic principles of engineering and physics by setting the table for a tea party while navigating a range of quirky, comically oversized utensils and tableware or launching porridge from a cannon. Young inventors will also face the challenge of repairing Wallace’s malfunctioning Autochef, learning about mechanical concepts through experiential learning, or soar to new heights by setting a course and blasting off to the moon in Wallace’s rocket. The exhibit promotes STEM-based problem solving, making the process of tackling challenges exciting and entertaining.
Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites
(May 16 – Sept 6, 2026)
Beloved children’s books come alive in Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites™. Step into the pages of seven beloved and award-winning children’s books as you journey through life-sized scenes designed to develop early literacy skills and open a life-long love of learning. Each story is transformed into a 3D play space where children interact with the story and its characters. Build a snowperson in The Snowy Day, explore an oversized alphabet playground in “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom,” harvest vegetables in “The Tales of Peter Rabbit” and more. Visitors play games, solve puzzles, and use their imagination, as they travel through the following books – The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter; The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats; Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill; If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff; Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault; Abuela by Arthur Dorros; and Tuesday by David Wiesner.
PNC Live Animal Gallery
Encounter the variety of animal life inhabiting our planet, including: reptiles, mammals, amphibians, birds, fish, and insects. Massive wall displays illustrate the diversity of fauna and flora right here in the Carolinas, from the mountains, down through the piedmont, and out to the coastal plain. Interact gently with a changing variety of Atlantic Ocean sea creatures including fish, spider crabs, hermit crabs, sea urchins and more. Museum assistants are here to answer questions and conduct Live Animal Encounters for visiting groups.
Permanent Collection
Marvel at the magic of Amazing Airways as colorful balls and scarves whoosh through a tangle of tubes and turns in a massive pneumatic air system. Explore the universe in our astronomy and space science gallery. Play in our second floor KidZeum of traditional children’s museum exhibits: doctor’s office, puppet theater, farmers market and kitchen, kid-sized crawl-in bee hive, BEAM interactive floor game system, Imagination Playground giant foam blocks, and more!
