Every corner of the Nature Research Center will be full of attention-getting exhibits. Here are the five most likely to captivate kids:

1 Patterns of Nature Walk into the atrium and you’re under this multimedia display, which looks like a water slide and shows schooling fish, falling water and other, well, patterns of nature.

2 SECU Daily Planet Three stories high, it’s the new building’s most iconic feature from outside. It’s pretty spectacular inside, too, with 40-foot-high screens for a state-of-the-art visual and audio experience.

3 Stumpy In life, Stumpy was “the mother of right whales,” weighing 77 tons until she fell prey to a ship strike in 2004. Her skeleton tells the story of her life and death; and unlike most such displays, this is one you can actually touch.

4 Aquarium Its 10,000 gallons of salt water will hold lionfish, stingrays, bonnethead sharks and other creatures from the sea.

5 Interactive tables Specimens are tagged so that when they’re placed on the tabletop, data about their characteristics, range and habitat appear. Touchscreens allow you to pick and choose what you see.

Source: N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences