Excitement and Exploration Awaits at North Museum of Nature and Science

School may still be a few weeks away, but that doesn’t mean you can’t explore educational endeavors during the summer season. Cultivating an engaging and interesting outing to a local museum is an all-season delight, especially when you head to one known for its stellar holdings, featuring STEM-based displays, activities, and exhibits that cater to all ages and interests. 

A baby touching rock displays.
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That’s just what you get on a visit to the North Museum of Nature and Science. Located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the impressive facility spans 15,000 square feet of delightfully diverse exhibits that encompass a range of multifaceted aspects surrounding science and technology. 

A kid entering the Museum.
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All this is crammed into three action-packed floors to explore! And explore you will! You could, quite literally, spend hours here trying to see everything and still be enthralled on your next visit. From its holding of more than 360,000 specimens to a varying range of subjects, displays, and even interactive in-house activities, the museum is a marvel that caters to all ages and unique interests. 

Two boys investigating something.
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Discover thrilling features, facts, and milestones spanning well over 500 million years of science and history through carefully curated exhibits of many kinds. Some are permanent fixtures, while others are seasonal, rotating presentations. All serve to engage folks and motivate eager minds to explore the world around them in novel ways. 

A skull of a dinosaur.
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Highlights you can always expect to find here include an optimal ornithological display, an impressive paleontology collection, a spectacular showcase of fossil and skeletal preservations, abundant geological holdings of rocks and minerals, a marvelous marine and maritime collection, and myriad other callouts of great acclaim. Their stunning Archaeology and Anthropology housing is especially amazing to onlookers. For those of botanical-minded interests, you can’t miss their very own resident Herbarium, the fourth largest in the state of Pennsylvania. 

A kid looking at an exhibit with greenery in it.
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One of their most highly regarded, must-see features, however, is their famous Planetarium. It stands out as the largest of its kind in all of South-Central Pennsylvania and offers one of the most immersive space exploration experiences you can find anywhere without actually leaving the planet. Your travels are set to all-encompassing high-definition motion picture effects that are guaranteed to leave you spellbound beyond all else! 

A space scene.
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The Museum also features a fun and informative “Live Animal Room,” a gift shop, elaborate art and archive holdings, and a plethora of other callouts to boot. While many features are permanent fixtures, rotating exhibits keep the ambiance here even more varied and versatile. 

An animal in the animal room.
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This summer, for instance, there has been an ongoing Shallow Seas exhibit, which has been extended through the end of August. Click here to read more about it.  

A sea turtle swimming.
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There are also many ongoing events, programs, and fascinating activities taking place here at various times. That’s because at the North Museum of Nature and Science, it’s always first and foremost about having fun while learning. This is successfully conveyed through the hands-on, informal environment that they’ve established here, which serves to engage, amaze, and inspire all visitors who come through its doors.

A kid holding a glowing science ball.
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Visit the North Museum of Nature and Science at 400 College Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17603. To learn more about all exhibits, programs, and onsite happenings, visit the website at www.northmuseum.org.