Waddle With Ducks Day at N.C. Museum of History

RALEIGH — What better way to welcome spring than to walk among waddling ducks at Bicentennial Plaza, outside the N.C. Museum of History?

Visitors can do that March 22 when live ducks and ducklings arrive for a special event, “Waddle With the Ducks Day.” This 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ducks day celebrates the opening of a new exhibit “ArtDuckO: Waterfowl Culture in North Carolina.”

Admission is free.

Award-winning decoy-carver Vic Kirkman and award-winning duck call-maker Ralph Jensen also can be observed at work, and conservationists from Ducks Unlimited and the Audubon Society will be on hand to share current projects.

Children can go on a scavenger hunt for “quack facts” at the exhibit and can win a rubber ducky. They also can enjoy ArtDuckO’s play area and hands-on activities, which includes touching live ducks and ducklings provided by Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park.

Be sure to tour ArtDuckO, showcasing nearly 400 hand-carved decoys. The 8,000-square-foot exhibit brings together 150 years of waterfowl culture from decoy carving, art and fashion to market hunting, hunt clubs and conservation efforts.

Mixing fun with informative, ArtDuckO features re-created environmental settings and interactive and video components. Artifacts include rare Audubon prints, feathered fashions, natural waterfowl specimens and hunting guns.

For more information, call 919-807-7900 or go to www.ncmuseumofhistory.org.

The N.C. Museum of History’s hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. The museum is part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives and History, an agency of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. The department’s Web site is www.ncculture.com.