NC Wildlife Resources Center for Wildlife Education

Contained within one of the many buildings on NC State’s Centennial Campus is a pretty amazing Wildlife Center.
With a self-​guided tour, the Center takes you through North Carolina’s wildlife and conservation efforts. It begins with a large satellite map of NC to give an overview of the vegetation or river and streams. From there, the exhibit map leads to the Wildlife section with its interactive push button displays for matching the animal with paw prints or bones.
The Piedmont Portraits section is probably my favorite. There are three floor-​to-​ceiling displays of the Piedmont habitats with each display flanked by pictures of animals found in that area. As you push the button, a picture of an animal lights up and you hear the sound of that animal. Each panel takes you through a day’s journey with simulated lighting and the animals most likely to be active at that time of day. Sometimes, sounds from the other displays play simultaneously — usually the bullfrog and toads — as a reminder that some animals are everywhere. There was no talking, just the nature sounds.
The Wetlands Section has a touch screen map for picking a county, an amphibian or reptile and then finding what is prevalent in that county. The Wetlands Overlook is my next favorite section. There are two cameras trained on bird feeders outside the windows near the man-​made wetland area. Using the joystick, you can zoom in or move the cameras to watch the birds or just explore.
There’s an auditorium playing a short video overview of the Piedmont habitats. It wasn’t operating the day I visited, but with everything else here to see, I wouldn’t have had time. I’ll go back to see it, but will probably call ahead to make sure its showing. It may only be available on weekends.
The self-​guided tour also covers the classroom labs on the lower level, with its groundhog, grasshopper and bullfrog labs, but I didn’t visit them, either. The guide indicates at least one of them, the grasshopper lab, has a collection of «skins, skulls» and other things that kids may find fun. I’m not fond of bugs or insects or some amphibians, even dead ones (just ask my college zoology professor), so I’ll probably continue to skip it.
It’s a small center, taking only about a third of the first floor, and part of the ground floor, but they’ve packed a lot into it. It’s free, but donations are welcome, and it’s a fun way to spend an hour or so.