Phase II, completed in 1991, included a new auditorium, temporary exhibit gallery, expanded lobby and gift shop, a new tree house discovery room, and 6,000 square feet of exhibition space. Phase I included the construction of an indoor Nature Center featuring live North Carolina animals. The late 1980s marked the beginning of a second major period of growth in the museum's history. Its unique dual focus on the natural and physical sciences came to reflect both the traditional and emerging needs of the regional community. The museum kept pace with this evolution while remaining rooted in a community-service tradition. Though the north central region of North Carolina retains a rural tradition, it became home to the Research Triangle Park, encompassing many hightechnology, science-based companies doing research and manufacturing in such diverse fields as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, computer electronics, medicine, and communications. The development of the museum paralleled the growth and change of the region it served. Huntington train of the Southern Pacific running along a mile-long course, opened in 1977. The Ellerbee Creek Special, a replica of the famous C. At the time, the museum was distinguished by a 'Pre-History Trail,' which opened in 1967, followed by an outstanding aerospace exhibit, which opened in 1975. In 1961 its Board of Directors secured a long-term lease from the city of Durham for a site on Murray Avenue and started construction of buildings on the south side of the campus. In 1949 the museum incorporated and moved to an old white house on Georgia Avenue. The original facility was a small trailside nature center adjacent to Northgate Park (then the Northgate Bird Sanctuary) that offered natural history exhibits and classes. The North Carolina Museum of Life and Science in Durham was founded in 1946 as the Children's Nature Museum.

Museum of life and science