Calendar

You’re invited to get up close with some of the more familiar creatures found in our ocean.

Our touch tank pool allows you to gently touch marine animals such as sea stars, sea urchins, whelks, horseshoe crabs, and hermit crabs. These animals live in a variety of habitats and have developed many ways to survive the waves and predators. Volunteers are on hand to assist and teach you about these incredible animals.

Did you know, when a sea urchin “hugs” your finger if you gently touch its spines, it’s actually checking you out: Are you food or predator? If you’re neither, the animal will just gradually release you.

Come to the Museum of Coastal Carolina at 11:00 on October 2 and experience Science in 3D. The museum’s newest exhibit, called Before the Dinosaurs: Coal Age Monsters, uses a virtual reality (VR) mobile classroom that allows visitors to explore the Earth before the dinosaurs existed. Put on a virtual reality headset and become immersed in this unique experience. The Science in 3D program is hosted by an educational docent who will help launch each VR adventure and answer questions about the experience.

This program concerns North Carolina ocean animal rescue efforts including the Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter and the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.  The program will also include a discussion of the largest marine mammal hospital in the world in California that has rescued over 25,000 sea lions and seals. All of these rescue efforts have a similar purpose: rescue, rehabilitation, and release. The program will detail why an animal needs to be rescued, how it is rescued, and what determines if and when the animal is released. The program will have a brief discussion of how the health of ocean animals is connected to the health of the ocean. The program will include an art activity for children.

This fall, on Thursdays at 11:00, the Museum of Coastal Carolina invites preschoolers to a fun, educational series of programs called Budding Scientists. Do you know a child who loves to explore outside, collect bugs and plants, or dig for shells at the beach? Bring him or her to the museum where young science lovers can learn all about our local environment through fun science experiments.

Each month, the program focuses on a different theme:

September – Budding Scientists become Super Earth Protectors by learning about different types of pollution and how to help protect the environment.

October – Budding Scientists learn Spooky Science by making a ghoulish potion, learning all about pumpkins, and performing some creepy chemistry experiments.

November – Budding Scientists learn about Backyard Science by investigating different types of soil, birds, and bugs.

December – Budding Scientists become Budding Meteorologists by learning how thunderstorms form, how to make snow, and how the ocean affects weather.

These programs will be hosted by Jamie Justice, the Education Coordinator for the Museum of Coastal Carolina and Ingram Planetarium. She received her Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from Bowling Green State University and her Master of Science in Environmental Science with concentrations in Marine and Coastal Education and Coastal Management from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Jamie is originally from Portsmouth, Ohio and moved to Wilmington, North Carolina for graduate school in 2017. Before coming to the Museum, she worked in a variety of educational positions at summer camps and schools.

You’re invited to get up close with some of the more familiar creatures found in our ocean.

Our touch tank pool allows you to gently touch marine animals such as sea stars, sea urchins, whelks, horseshoe crabs, and hermit crabs. These animals live in a variety of habitats and have developed many ways to survive the waves and predators. Volunteers are on hand to assist and teach you about these incredible animals.

Did you know, when a sea urchin “hugs” your finger if you gently touch its spines, it’s actually checking you out: Are you food or predator? If you’re neither, the animal will just gradually release you.

At 11:00 on October 9, Ida Moon and Gayle Hughes will present a program called Treasures of the Ocean Reef at the Museum of Coastal Carolina. After a brief introduction about Stuart Ingram and the origin of the museum, the program will focus on the identification and special characteristics of the animals displayed in the museum’s Ocean Reef Gallery, comparing and contrasting the differences between the life-size animal models in the gallery and the real, living creatures. Species to be discussed include remora, dolphin, octopus, flying fish, barracuda, ocean sunfish, manta rays, and sharks. The program includes a craft that is fun for all ages: painting a wooden fish that can be taken home after the program.

Ida Moon has been a resident of Ocean Isle Beach since 1990. She is a retired teacher and was chairman of the OIB Recreation Board for 13 years. Ida now volunteers at Union School and the Museum of Coastal Carolina. Gayle Hughes is also a long-time resident of Ocean Isle Beach and a museum volunteer.

This program concerns North Carolina ocean animal rescue efforts including the Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter and the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.  The program will also include a discussion of the largest marine mammal hospital in the world in California that has rescued over 25,000 sea lions and seals. All of these rescue efforts have a similar purpose: rescue, rehabilitation, and release. The program will detail why an animal needs to be rescued, how it is rescued, and what determines if and when the animal is released. The program will have a brief discussion of how the health of ocean animals is connected to the health of the ocean. The program will include an art activity for children.

Will and Allison Smith present Ghosts of Ocean Isle Beach at 6 PM on October 12 at the Museum of Coastal Carolina. Brunswick County has 500 years of recorded history. With history comes great ghost stories. Learn how apparitions sighted on our beaches have preceded text book explanations of German Sailors, Ladies of the Manor, and Spanish Conquistadors. Also, be prepared to hear about some spooky local haunts in this family-friendly presentation.

Will and his wife, Allison, were approached years ago by Fred David and Vern Bender and asked to write a ghost story chapter for their History of Ocean Isle Beach book. Will Smith majored in history during his undergraduate work at the Citadel and Allison loves scary stories. It turned into a wonderful hobby and the two began volunteering their program for museums, POA’s, Wounded Warriors, and school groups. As Will and Allison told their stories, people related their own ghost stories to them, and their collection, combined with research, grew over time. They decided to lead ghost tours in the summer months and also published their own book titled The Dead Don’t Like to be Forgotten; Tales from the South Brunswick Islands. Will and Allison reside in Ocean Isle Beach where they are enjoying a slower pace of life and raising two children.

This fall, on Thursdays at 11:00, the Museum of Coastal Carolina invites preschoolers to a fun, educational series of programs called Budding Scientists. Do you know a child who loves to explore outside, collect bugs and plants, or dig for shells at the beach? Bring him or her to the museum where young science lovers can learn all about our local environment through fun science experiments.

Each month, the program focuses on a different theme:

September – Budding Scientists become Super Earth Protectors by learning about different types of pollution and how to help protect the environment.

October – Budding Scientists learn Spooky Science by making a ghoulish potion, learning all about pumpkins, and performing some creepy chemistry experiments.

November – Budding Scientists learn about Backyard Science by investigating different types of soil, birds, and bugs.

December – Budding Scientists become Budding Meteorologists by learning how thunderstorms form, how to make snow, and how the ocean affects weather.

These programs will be hosted by Jamie Justice, the Education Coordinator for the Museum of Coastal Carolina and Ingram Planetarium. She received her Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from Bowling Green State University and her Master of Science in Environmental Science with concentrations in Marine and Coastal Education and Coastal Management from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Jamie is originally from Portsmouth, Ohio and moved to Wilmington, North Carolina for graduate school in 2017. Before coming to the Museum, she worked in a variety of educational positions at summer camps and schools.