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070<br />
TRAVEL REPORT: NORTH CAROLINA<br />
Free for All<br />
BY BROOKE PORTER<br />
It may not be home to the Hope Diamond, but Raleigh is often dubbed<br />
the “Smithsonian of the South.” It’s no wonder—the city’s museums are<br />
gems in their own right. And the fact that many of them are free makes<br />
a visit priceless in more ways than one.<br />
North Carolina<br />
Museum of Art<br />
IN 1947, NORTH CAROLINA<br />
became the first state to use<br />
public funds to buy art—and this<br />
museum’s collection was born. In<br />
April, the museum unveiled a new<br />
127,000-square-foot, light-filled<br />
building with a soaring glass<br />
exterior, growing the exhibition<br />
space by 50%. (The original building<br />
is being used for special exhibitions,<br />
like American Chronicles: The Art of<br />
Norman Rockwell, opening Nov. 7.)<br />
The space is home to many newly<br />
acquired works, including paintings<br />
by Pablo Picasso and Ellsworth<br />
Kelly and 28 Auguste Rodin<br />
sculptures (making the museum the<br />
largest depository of the artist’s work<br />
in the South, with 31). The environmentally<br />
friendly structure has<br />
362 skylights and shades that rise<br />
and fall based on sun levels, so the<br />
art is always perfectly illuminated.<br />
2110 Blue Ridge Rd; 919-839-6262;<br />
ncartmuseum.org<br />
GO MAGAZINE OCTOBER <strong>2010</strong><br />
North Carolina<br />
Museum of History<br />
AS THE “HALL OF HISTORY,”<br />
this museum preserves state<br />
history through permanent and<br />
special exhibitions. In Behind<br />
the Veneer: Thomas Day, Master<br />
Cabinetmaker, visitors can learn<br />
about the life of Thomas Day, a<br />
free black man who owned and<br />
operated one of North Carolina’s<br />
largest cabinet shops before the<br />
Civil War. The exhibit features<br />
a re-created workshop complete<br />
with original hand tools and about<br />
70 pieces of furniture, including<br />
intricately carved mahogany and<br />
rosewood designs. Sports fans<br />
will cheer for the permanent<br />
North Carolina Sports Hall of<br />
Fame exhibit, home to Richard<br />
Petty’s stock car, Duke University<br />
men’s basketball coach Mike<br />
Krzyzewski’s warm-up jacket and<br />
hundreds of other artifacts from<br />
local heroes. 5 E Edenton St; 919-<br />
807-7900; ncmuseumofhistory.org<br />
North Carolina<br />
Museum of Natural<br />
Sciences<br />
THIS FOUR-STORY, INTERACtive<br />
museum introduces curious<br />
minds to all aspects of the state’s<br />
natural world, from the coast to<br />
the mountains to the gem- and<br />
mineral-rich caves. Animals in the<br />
exhibits are both live (poison dart<br />
frogs in “Tropical Connections,”<br />
seahorses in “Coastal Carolina”)<br />
and re-created (the world’s most<br />
complete skeleton of the predatory<br />
Acrocanthosaurus in “Prehistoric<br />
North Carolina”), and visitors will<br />
come away with an anthology of<br />
interesting facts about the state.<br />
A few good ones: North Carolina<br />
is home to 58 species of salamander,<br />
the greatest density of the<br />
species in the world, and it claims<br />
more high peaks than any state<br />
east of the Rockies. Bring those<br />
out at your next dinner party.<br />
11 W Jones St; 919-733-7450;<br />
naturalsciences.org<br />
NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF HISTORY: SIDE CHAIR, MAHOGANY, MAHOGANY VENEER, ROSEWOOD VENEER, AND POPLAR (UPHOLSTERY NOT<br />
ORIGINAL), MADE BY THOMAS DAY FOR THE JAMES POTEAT FAMILY, YANCEYVILLE, CASWELL COUNTY, 1855-1860; NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART
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